I'm feeling a little disheartened, (Depressed, even) since everything I wrote in Mitchieville was either poorly recieved, or taken the wrong way, and I've come to the decision that I'm not writing in anything other than GSD, since I seem to be so damned offensive, excepting my brief tradesies during blogathon 2005.
I just wish...
Well... What I really wish is that people would realize that there is a person behind the words on the screen, but somehow, that seems to elude some people. Yeah, I have a mildly offensive sense of humour to some people, and honestly, me writing in a largely conservative based blog was a bad idea from the get go. I was nervous about writing it, feeling obligated and not willing to say no because I wanted to make a friend happy, and honestly I had no idea as to what the hell to write, that wouldn't make me look horrid. The sad thing is, I feel like I've gone and alienated myself from someone whose friendship I value. Sorry, I didn't mean to fuck up.
Should I really care, that I've gotten a couple of people up in arms with something so harmless? No. But I do anyways.
*Sighs*
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Linds Does...
CULTUS LAKE
Yes, those are my feet, and this is my view on the way to the lake. I just did a pedicure.My toes are "Hooker Red". I'm also wearing velvet sandals. They kick ass.
Cultus Lake is Located in Beautiful, pungent (Hey, it's surrounded by farms, I'm just being honest.) Chilliwack, about an hour outside of Vancouver, heading towards central British Columbia. One of my bestest Galpals Crystal D. and I went to Cultus lake for a brief daytrip. It's smoking hot out right now, but not nearly as hot as it's been for the past few days. Here's a brief tagalong with Linds and Crystal Photo blog entry.
The view from "the Beach". I use term beach loosely, it's in the middle of mountains,and you're basically walking on rocks. Bring an inflatable mattress to sit on.
Crystal and LindsThis is one of my bestest galpals Crystal and I, and she'll probably kill me for posting this, but you know what? This image totally captures our friendship in entirety. We laugh, ALL the time. She's laughing because she made fun of me, (bugs kept on flying into my ears, long story made short, she's razzing me about it in this picture.) and I snapped the photo via monkeypaw.
Oh, and guys, she's single, and a FANTASTIC, loving, sweet, smart, sarcastic, pretty girl. Just sayin'. (Email me if you're interested... And not in me, dingaling, HER!)
Crystal snapped my pic, You'll have to excuse my hair.
70 clicks per hour, MAXIMUM!Pardon the blurry-ness of the sign, but I dig the entire look of this the view of the mountains, the sign on the left, and the brilliance of the grass and blue skies with wispy blue clouds. You'll see the reason for this picture, in the next one.
110 Klicks per hour.
I surruptitiously snapped a photograph of the spedometer while she was driving down the back country roads. What? She's only going 40 klicks over the limit. Seriously though, I've never felt safer with anyone driving in my life.
110 Klicks per hour.This was Linds (and Crystal) do Cultus Lake.
Have a listen...
I've got a track from the newest Beastie Boys album up for your listening pleasure. This'll be up for a week same as the King Cobb Steelie track. A gifty for y'all.
*kisses*
Go have a listen here.
*kisses*
Go have a listen here.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Watch this...
Because I have friends with dark, dark senses of humour, (which is fine because so do I. Usually.) and it made me laugh until tears were almost running down my legs. In particular, the part where he wears his arms down to stubs. I couldn't tell you why, but some nights when i'm doing homework, this is how I feel. When I was using a PC, that's how I ALWAYS felt.This animated gif made my night.
Hey There, Hi There, Ho There! Who You Callin' A Ho, Bitch!?
I'm babysitting Mitchieville while the Mayor goes and gets shitfaced with Fenris and Sargon, discussing the evil threat to Mitchieville that is Lothar Bisquick. I guess a girl has to keep up with her tasks, when she's Minister of the Arts... That being said, I'm double posting tonight, both here and in Mitchieville.
I done wrote this, and stuff.
From the Desk of Linds.
As the Minister of the Arts, I have to make a confession. Day in and day out, I'm mired in the glory that is the internet. That fabulous technological superhighway that is known as the world wide web. Now, aside from browsing for pornography, I also tend to find some really interesting articles on developing technology. Like this one here.
Now, far be it for me to criticize anyone's usage of technology, this is actually quite neat, being innovative and unique. As it says in the article, it could be used for standing in line and keeping amused while waiting at a theme park, or whatever. Screw actually conversing with the people you're around. Ignore them and watch cartoons on your hand instead. And then take pictures of the cartoons on your hand with your cell phone camera. That's the ticket.
Having said that it's neat, it seems to be a bit of a lark, and more than a little excessive.
The notion of being bombarded by advertisements simply by being curious, is a little noxious to my sensibilities. However, Japanese culture is literally 120 times more advertising oriented than North American culture. As a student taking advertising and design, I find this fascinating and horrid at the same time. There's such power over people via ads on the net, television, and print already; now it's a matter of branching out and using a simulation of nature to get people to have yet another sale broadcast to them. There are very few limitations on methods adverts, as well as the content used in them in Japan. This is a culture that refuses to allow showing sexual intercourse in porn, but allows the sale of used tampons in jars and previously-worn panties in vending machines in public.
I don't get it. A little jungle fever isn't going to hurt anyone, is it?
And if this doesn't spark some sort of thoughts in the heads of you loyal Mitchievillians, (Mitchieville-ites?) At least the Mayors search engine result visits are going to double. *smirks*
And yes, these will indeed be incorporated into the local strip malls in Mitchieville as soon as they are exported to North America.
I done wrote this, and stuff.
From the Desk of Linds.
As the Minister of the Arts, I have to make a confession. Day in and day out, I'm mired in the glory that is the internet. That fabulous technological superhighway that is known as the world wide web. Now, aside from browsing for pornography, I also tend to find some really interesting articles on developing technology. Like this one here.
Now, far be it for me to criticize anyone's usage of technology, this is actually quite neat, being innovative and unique. As it says in the article, it could be used for standing in line and keeping amused while waiting at a theme park, or whatever. Screw actually conversing with the people you're around. Ignore them and watch cartoons on your hand instead. And then take pictures of the cartoons on your hand with your cell phone camera. That's the ticket.
Having said that it's neat, it seems to be a bit of a lark, and more than a little excessive.
The notion of being bombarded by advertisements simply by being curious, is a little noxious to my sensibilities. However, Japanese culture is literally 120 times more advertising oriented than North American culture. As a student taking advertising and design, I find this fascinating and horrid at the same time. There's such power over people via ads on the net, television, and print already; now it's a matter of branching out and using a simulation of nature to get people to have yet another sale broadcast to them. There are very few limitations on methods adverts, as well as the content used in them in Japan. This is a culture that refuses to allow showing sexual intercourse in porn, but allows the sale of used tampons in jars and previously-worn panties in vending machines in public.
I don't get it. A little jungle fever isn't going to hurt anyone, is it?
And if this doesn't spark some sort of thoughts in the heads of you loyal Mitchievillians, (Mitchieville-ites?) At least the Mayors search engine result visits are going to double. *smirks*
And yes, these will indeed be incorporated into the local strip malls in Mitchieville as soon as they are exported to North America.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Hey!
If you haven't heard Renèe Olstead yet, GO LISTEN.This girl is what, 15, maybe 16 now? And she sounds like she's at least 25, with a sultry, talented amazing jazz voice. You just know she's going to get better as she gets older. I hate her already, in that "oh my god, I could never be as friggin' good at singing as she is." hate way. In otherwords, I'm just jealous, and admire the hell out of her.
I also have her entire latest cd, fresh in my grubby mitts. Ooo it's good. REAL good. Admittedly it was released about six months to a year ago, but it's still new to ME, and that's what counts. Mizz Olstead is fresh meat for producer David Foster, the same dude that discovered/produced/made infamous Josh Groban (Los Angeles), Michael Buble (Vancouver local) and Celine Dion (Quebec, but now I guess Las Vegas) icons of "Easy Listening". I know some of you are cringing out there, what with the easy listening reference, but I'm a loser sometimes, and I dig a talented vocalist more than screaming guitars at times... I'm a music snob, okay?
*ahem.* That being said, Buble is the new Frank Sinatra in a lot of ways, (I have his premiere self-titled album as well, very good stuff) I have both the Josh Groban albums, the first being self-titled, and the second called "Closer". I can't think of anyone that is comparable to Mizz Olstead. She's from Houston, Texas, and her vocal ability is dazzling. For anyone that dismisses teenagers out of hand, (To be honest, I usually do. Whoops.) This girl blows "American Idol" contenstants right-the-fuck-out of the water. Hell, she launches them off of the continent.
Oh, by the way, I refuse to discuss Miss Dion. Ever.
It's obvious her influences are Sarah Vaughan, and a touch of the babydoll voice that Ella Fitzgerald did in some of her songs, with a pinch of Diana Krall in there to even it all out. I'm sure there's more, but I'm exhausted, and all I could do was marvel at this little things vocals. She covers classic jazz standards such as "Summertime" "On a Slow Boat to China", "Sentimental Journey" and the sassy "Is You Or Is You Ain't My Baby?" as well as quite a few others. This isn't a review, I don't have the time to write one, but I just thought you guys should know about this chica. She's very talented.
Completely aside, I almost picked up a copy of "How to Make Love like a Porn Star" by Jenna Jameson today at the Virgin Records Megastore in downtown Vancouver, but thought I didn't need any more help on that subject. I've never had any complaints. *Smirks*
If you want any discounted Books, Shirts, Postcards, everything but CD's and DVD's they're all on sale. I'm restraining myself from going in there every damned day.
'Thon Update
Alright.
So... I talked with my mother on Monday night, and for those of you that don't know, my mom is a very talented artist.
She's agreed to contribute FOUR original drawings, which I'm going to scan, touch up in photoshop, and print on four six inch by six inch glossy prints to the blogathon prize stuffs, and these drawings have a theme to them.
The theme is "Glamazon's of the past" and I've picked are Rita Hayworth, Marlene Deitrich, Hedy Lamarr, and Betty Grable. Four of the most iconic, beautiful, memorable actresses of the 1930's and 40s. (I dunno if you guys have noticed, but I've got a serious addiction to the 30s and 40s, in particular the look that the women had, shoes, and Jazz.) I'm avoiding the typical Marilyn Monroe for a reason, because she's over done. As much as I love the look of Mizz Monroe, and I do have some original art up on MY walls of her, I think that this series of black and white signed sketches would be more valuable, and more of a collectors piece. (The original images she's drawing from can be found below. Just to give you an idea.)
As soon as she gives them to me, and they've been worked on, they will be up for display with a watermark on them for you guys to take a look at, and immediately taken off display as soon as the blogathon is over. I'm thinking of setting a designated pledge goal for these pieces, since they are very high-quality prints, and the person that pledges that amount gets the set of four.
As it stands now, the pledged amount is 44 bucks, and my goal is 200. If I can hit over that, I'll be ecstatic.
Here, is the lovely Glamazons of the past, the original pictures, and my Ma is going to turn them into fantastico artwork. I heart my mommy.
Above: Hedy Lamarr Below: Betty Grable
Above: Rita Hayworth – Below: Marlene Dietrich
So... I talked with my mother on Monday night, and for those of you that don't know, my mom is a very talented artist.
She's agreed to contribute FOUR original drawings, which I'm going to scan, touch up in photoshop, and print on four six inch by six inch glossy prints to the blogathon prize stuffs, and these drawings have a theme to them.
The theme is "Glamazon's of the past" and I've picked are Rita Hayworth, Marlene Deitrich, Hedy Lamarr, and Betty Grable. Four of the most iconic, beautiful, memorable actresses of the 1930's and 40s. (I dunno if you guys have noticed, but I've got a serious addiction to the 30s and 40s, in particular the look that the women had, shoes, and Jazz.) I'm avoiding the typical Marilyn Monroe for a reason, because she's over done. As much as I love the look of Mizz Monroe, and I do have some original art up on MY walls of her, I think that this series of black and white signed sketches would be more valuable, and more of a collectors piece. (The original images she's drawing from can be found below. Just to give you an idea.)
As soon as she gives them to me, and they've been worked on, they will be up for display with a watermark on them for you guys to take a look at, and immediately taken off display as soon as the blogathon is over. I'm thinking of setting a designated pledge goal for these pieces, since they are very high-quality prints, and the person that pledges that amount gets the set of four.
As it stands now, the pledged amount is 44 bucks, and my goal is 200. If I can hit over that, I'll be ecstatic.
Here, is the lovely Glamazons of the past, the original pictures, and my Ma is going to turn them into fantastico artwork. I heart my mommy.
Above: Hedy Lamarr Below: Betty Grable
Above: Rita Hayworth – Below: Marlene Dietrich
Ach!
I've had the song "The Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson stuck in my head for the past three days. This is one earworm I can't shake, and it's starting to drive me insane when I break out with "I'm starting with the man in the mirror, ooooh yeah" every fifteen minutes or so.
It's totally driving me effing-well-CRAZY!
I just had a review for my Interface Design/Dreamweaver final project, and it wasn't poorly recieved, which is nice.
At any rate, time for coffee.
*kisses*
It's totally driving me effing-well-CRAZY!
I just had a review for my Interface Design/Dreamweaver final project, and it wasn't poorly recieved, which is nice.
At any rate, time for coffee.
*kisses*
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Update!
Ahhh yes. The 'thon is moving along nicely, and I've arranged a set playlist for the songs I'm going to toss in, also arranging a guest poster who is also posting in thier own 'thon entry, who I'll be trading shoes with for at least one post during the 24 hour event. Any requests for music, suggestions or anything else, perhaps another volunteer guest spotter, that gets to pick their own tune to slap up on the server for their designated hour. I'll also be doing my own post on thier site while they are here entertaining you guys with their own form of digital typography.
Small pieces of design will be tossed up randomly during my stint, which will also be printed and sent with the "winner" who pledges the most to the Canadian Cancer Society.
So what are you waiting for? I'm excited about this!
Small pieces of design will be tossed up randomly during my stint, which will also be printed and sent with the "winner" who pledges the most to the Canadian Cancer Society.
So what are you waiting for? I'm excited about this!
Monday, July 25, 2005
Oh! By the Way!!
Stupid me! I forgot to mention, the incentive and some of the basic concept for my 24 hour long session of writing madness.
The idea I've got running around in this head of mine, is to write, (obviously) and for each hour I'm up, a new song gets put up on the server, free for you guys to listen to, but not to download.
Hear me out.
Now, the prize for the person that pledges the highest donation, will recieve a 2 disc compilation of 24 songs, one for each hour I'm up, the cover and the liner fully designed by me, with a personalized thank-you note inside. It's not much, but hey, I'm mailing it out to ya, and it's an original piece of art for you to have. Not to mention a kickass compilation for your ears to savour.
The idea I've got running around in this head of mine, is to write, (obviously) and for each hour I'm up, a new song gets put up on the server, free for you guys to listen to, but not to download.
Hear me out.
Now, the prize for the person that pledges the highest donation, will recieve a 2 disc compilation of 24 songs, one for each hour I'm up, the cover and the liner fully designed by me, with a personalized thank-you note inside. It's not much, but hey, I'm mailing it out to ya, and it's an original piece of art for you to have. Not to mention a kickass compilation for your ears to savour.
Blogathon 2005 information.
Alright, my lovelies.
I've gone and chosen the Canadian Cancer Society (Vancouver Division) as the recipients for any and all pledges made towards my end of the Blogathon dilly-yo. Unfortunately, I typed in "foundation" instead of "society" so I feel like an arse, but forgive me on that...
This means, that if you click on this darling little linky, you can go, and donate as much precious money as possible to my charity of choice, and I must say, I'll be terribly disappointed if no one bothers to pledge.
Remember that thing called Karma? Yeah, It likes you. How 'bout you like it?
No seriously guys, this would be wonderful. I'm not asking much, but a ten spot or a twenty, and it goes to funding cancer research.
I promise, I'll go full haul on this, and stay up writing until gad only knows what sort of odd creatures lurking in my brain decide to have their say online. *winks*
I've gone and chosen the Canadian Cancer Society (Vancouver Division) as the recipients for any and all pledges made towards my end of the Blogathon dilly-yo. Unfortunately, I typed in "foundation" instead of "society" so I feel like an arse, but forgive me on that...
This means, that if you click on this darling little linky, you can go, and donate as much precious money as possible to my charity of choice, and I must say, I'll be terribly disappointed if no one bothers to pledge.
Remember that thing called Karma? Yeah, It likes you. How 'bout you like it?
No seriously guys, this would be wonderful. I'm not asking much, but a ten spot or a twenty, and it goes to funding cancer research.
I promise, I'll go full haul on this, and stay up writing until gad only knows what sort of odd creatures lurking in my brain decide to have their say online. *winks*
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Well, I Guess I'm a Pro...
I shelled out the 31 dollars Canadian for a pro account on Flickr.com. 20 megs of photos/design ends up zipping by pretty fast, and I think I topped my account in about ten days this month. Drag.
This marks the first occasion I've ever paid for something online. Whoo! I'm part of that modern day technology thing now. Fucking crazy.
I really have nothing other than that to say today, other than the fact that I was up until six this morning working on stuff, and woke up at noon. The only thing with that was that on Friday afternoon, the power went out momentarily in my house, leaving all of the clocks blinking their digital love at the humans in residence. I didn't bother to fix my clock but only got frustrated with that infernal blinking right in my face. So, I did what any person would do, and set it for one minute ahead of the four hours ahead of regular time that the clock was showing. so it was 6 pm, and my clock was showing 10:01 pm. I promptly fell asleep, since the clock wasn't blinking at me, thinking to myself that I'd set it properly when I woke up later that evening.
I didn't wake up until nine thirty the next morning, (I was bagged.) and had promptly forgot to change my clock back to regular scheduled broadcasting hours. So this "morning" when I woke up, I thought I had slept in until four thirty in the afternoon. I was so dissapointed in myself.
Dissapointed in myself for nothing.
See. Pointless story. Ah well. Life's like that sometimes.
*kisses*
Oh, and what I made, is really quite awesome looking. Here. Take a look. It was a present for Devin and Marty. So they could have artwork for their podcasts in iTunes. Just like that pretty one I made yesterday that echo's the GSD banner. It was fun going off of the original theme of "blender" and the term D uses all the time of the DAM. 'casts being "A Musical Blender, that's always set on Pureè". As you can see I went a bit abstract from there, and played up the idea of blended things and Mike G suggested a Meat grinder. Whatever. It speaks for itself.
This marks the first occasion I've ever paid for something online. Whoo! I'm part of that modern day technology thing now. Fucking crazy.
I really have nothing other than that to say today, other than the fact that I was up until six this morning working on stuff, and woke up at noon. The only thing with that was that on Friday afternoon, the power went out momentarily in my house, leaving all of the clocks blinking their digital love at the humans in residence. I didn't bother to fix my clock but only got frustrated with that infernal blinking right in my face. So, I did what any person would do, and set it for one minute ahead of the four hours ahead of regular time that the clock was showing. so it was 6 pm, and my clock was showing 10:01 pm. I promptly fell asleep, since the clock wasn't blinking at me, thinking to myself that I'd set it properly when I woke up later that evening.
I didn't wake up until nine thirty the next morning, (I was bagged.) and had promptly forgot to change my clock back to regular scheduled broadcasting hours. So this "morning" when I woke up, I thought I had slept in until four thirty in the afternoon. I was so dissapointed in myself.
Dissapointed in myself for nothing.
See. Pointless story. Ah well. Life's like that sometimes.
*kisses*
Oh, and what I made, is really quite awesome looking. Here. Take a look. It was a present for Devin and Marty. So they could have artwork for their podcasts in iTunes. Just like that pretty one I made yesterday that echo's the GSD banner. It was fun going off of the original theme of "blender" and the term D uses all the time of the DAM. 'casts being "A Musical Blender, that's always set on Pureè". As you can see I went a bit abstract from there, and played up the idea of blended things and Mike G suggested a Meat grinder. Whatever. It speaks for itself.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
These Boots Are Made For Walking...
The GSD Podcast for Saturday, July 23rd, 2005 is up and running.
I managed to score some time to myself, neglecting homework for the past three hours, to slap together the podcast for this week. I've had the playlist ready to rock for about a week now, but have been too busy.
This week is loaded with rollicking fun, these tunes are sure to keep your toes tapping, and please all ages, races, and genders. It's a little more lively this week, kicking it with some lesbian punk, OLD Green day, Stevie Ray Vaughan, DJ Tiesto, King Cobb Steelie, Collective Soul, Rob Zombie, Prince starting and finishing things, and tons more audible treats.
Okay, Grandma won't dig the Rob Zombie, or the kickass lesbian punk band from the States. Grandma also would probably frown on my cussing, and the guitars. So, maybe it's not for all ages. But who cares!!
You can subscribe to GSD Podcasts by putting this darling little linky into your podcasting software, (just a hint, iTunes 4.9 has this stuff already in it, all you have to do is cut and paste the link into it. Go get it. It's free! Who doesn't like free stuff?)
That is all.
*Kisses!*
Blogathon 2005.
Okay. So I've been hinting at writing in Blogathon 2005 for quite some time, and now is the time I announce it to the world.
On August 6th, 2005, I intend, with several hundred other avid bloggers across the world, to write for Blogathon 2005. I've yet to choose a charity, due to the problems involved with having people from different countries pledging to just one, and am in the process of sorting through a bunch of charities to be the recipient of the money pledged. I'm leaning towards cancer research, for several reasons.
Several family members of mine have suffered from cancer in the past ten years, including my grandfather, who is currently dying from a mixture of prostate cancer, and bladder cancer, as well as my grandmother who has suffered through kidney cancer and skin cancer. It runs high in my family, and though I'm not able to save my grandfather from his untimely demise, I can hopefully raise enough money to help prevent others from suffering from this horrible disease.
I'm sure that explaining this gives a little impact to what I'm saying, and I know I'm not the only person in this world that has lost someone, or is losing someone to varied forms of cancer.
However, the charity I choose has to be willing to accept one time donations, as opposed to monthly and or annual donations, as well as accepting both Canadian and US currency. It's a bit of a problem, but not one that can't be worked out within a few days. It would help if the organizations were open and answering their phones on the weekends. This will all be sorted out reasonably soon. I hope.
That being said, I'm open to suggestions from you guys, my beloved readership, since you're the ones that are (hopefully) going to be donating to the charity I choose. I'm not being terribly ambitious, knowing this is the first run for me on the blogathon scenario, but I'm thinking somewhere around 200 bucks. More would be fantastico, but I'm not going to push it. Every penny helps. Feel free to make suggestions, through emailing me, or comments here in GSD and any of you that say the "your name here" society, gets a swift kick to their tush. This is serious, and I'm open to quite a few suggestions.
Some of the organizations kicking around in my head were the Canadian Cancer Society, The international Cancer Research Society, Habitat for Humanity (though this group is Christian based, and I'm shying away from it) And possibly the Vancouver Women's Rape Relief Shelter.
I dunno how you Statesiders that read my stuff are thinking about all this, but I would prefer to make it a more universal charity, though that might be quite difficult.
On August 6th, 2005, I intend, with several hundred other avid bloggers across the world, to write for Blogathon 2005. I've yet to choose a charity, due to the problems involved with having people from different countries pledging to just one, and am in the process of sorting through a bunch of charities to be the recipient of the money pledged. I'm leaning towards cancer research, for several reasons.
Several family members of mine have suffered from cancer in the past ten years, including my grandfather, who is currently dying from a mixture of prostate cancer, and bladder cancer, as well as my grandmother who has suffered through kidney cancer and skin cancer. It runs high in my family, and though I'm not able to save my grandfather from his untimely demise, I can hopefully raise enough money to help prevent others from suffering from this horrible disease.
I'm sure that explaining this gives a little impact to what I'm saying, and I know I'm not the only person in this world that has lost someone, or is losing someone to varied forms of cancer.
However, the charity I choose has to be willing to accept one time donations, as opposed to monthly and or annual donations, as well as accepting both Canadian and US currency. It's a bit of a problem, but not one that can't be worked out within a few days. It would help if the organizations were open and answering their phones on the weekends. This will all be sorted out reasonably soon. I hope.
That being said, I'm open to suggestions from you guys, my beloved readership, since you're the ones that are (hopefully) going to be donating to the charity I choose. I'm not being terribly ambitious, knowing this is the first run for me on the blogathon scenario, but I'm thinking somewhere around 200 bucks. More would be fantastico, but I'm not going to push it. Every penny helps. Feel free to make suggestions, through emailing me, or comments here in GSD and any of you that say the "your name here" society, gets a swift kick to their tush. This is serious, and I'm open to quite a few suggestions.
Some of the organizations kicking around in my head were the Canadian Cancer Society, The international Cancer Research Society, Habitat for Humanity (though this group is Christian based, and I'm shying away from it) And possibly the Vancouver Women's Rape Relief Shelter.
I dunno how you Statesiders that read my stuff are thinking about all this, but I would prefer to make it a more universal charity, though that might be quite difficult.
Friday, July 22, 2005
Mmmmmphhhh.
I'm exhausted.
How do I know this? A few reasons, actually. After staring out the window of the bus for three minutes, and then wondering why my eyes hurt; I realized it was because I hadn't blinked for the entire three minutes, lost in my thoughts. Or rather, lack thereof. I'm approaching burnt out. Unfortunately.
I need a massage. Badly.
I need a nap. For days. Just call me Rip Van-fucking-Winkle.
Today a project I've been working on and off of for three weeks got completely rehauled. All of the colours were changed on a very detailed piece, all the images were resized. I lost some composure with one of my favourite teachers, even though I apologized profusely about half a minute later, I still felt bad.
There's no rest for the wicked. None at all. Strange thing is, I haven't been able to get into anything wicked in an awfully long time. A pity.
Devin didn't play my song that I requested on his podcast. *frowns and pouts* Well, screw it, then. I'm going to play it on mine. Next month when I get the chance to make it. Prince, "Kiss" kicks some solid-gold-ass, and I'm slapping it on the beginning of the next GSD installment. Take THAT, Mister Pike.
Whine, whine, whine. Bitch, complain, moan, whine. Temper tantrum, temper tantrum. Bitch whine complain, whine bitch, mope, cry a little. Fall asleep... Whimpering.
How do I know this? A few reasons, actually. After staring out the window of the bus for three minutes, and then wondering why my eyes hurt; I realized it was because I hadn't blinked for the entire three minutes, lost in my thoughts. Or rather, lack thereof. I'm approaching burnt out. Unfortunately.
I need a massage. Badly.
I need a nap. For days. Just call me Rip Van-fucking-Winkle.
Today a project I've been working on and off of for three weeks got completely rehauled. All of the colours were changed on a very detailed piece, all the images were resized. I lost some composure with one of my favourite teachers, even though I apologized profusely about half a minute later, I still felt bad.
There's no rest for the wicked. None at all. Strange thing is, I haven't been able to get into anything wicked in an awfully long time. A pity.
Devin didn't play my song that I requested on his podcast. *frowns and pouts* Well, screw it, then. I'm going to play it on mine. Next month when I get the chance to make it. Prince, "Kiss" kicks some solid-gold-ass, and I'm slapping it on the beginning of the next GSD installment. Take THAT, Mister Pike.
Whine, whine, whine. Bitch, complain, moan, whine. Temper tantrum, temper tantrum. Bitch whine complain, whine bitch, mope, cry a little. Fall asleep... Whimpering.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Quote-tastic!
"The power of truth itself is invincible and needs no sacrifice." – David Hawkins
"Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it."– Hellen Keller
"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us."– Hellen Keller
I always though that the great high privilege, relief and comfort of friend ship was that one had to explain nothing -- Katherine Mansfield
The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any. – Alice Walker
What's all this crap about the perfect man? I'd settle for one who has his own car and a steady job. – Mary Rockne
Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after. – Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Can you image anybody wanting to look this way for real? – Dolly Parton
"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try." – Beverly Sills
"The essential conditions of everything you do must be choice, love, passion." – Nadia Boulanger
"I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is. I only know that people call me a feminist when I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute." – Dame Rebecca West
"Art is the only way to run away without leaving Home." – Twyla Tharp
"Being called a poetess brings out the terroristress in me." – Audre Lord
"Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one." – Stella Adler
"If I could tell you what it meant, there would be no point in dancing it." – Isadora Duncan
"As the people here grow colder – I turn to my computer And spend my evenings with it – Like a friend." – Kate Bush
"Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine." – Patti Smith
"Cynicism is an unpleasant way of saying the truth." – Lillian Hellman
"The real fountain of youth is to have a dirty mind." – Model Jerry Hall, The Original Max Talking Headroom Show
"What urge will save us now that sex won't?" – Jenny Holzer, word artist
"Nobody can be exactly like me. Sometimes even I have trouble doing it." – Tallulah Bankhead
"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will piss on your computer." – Elisabeth Riba
"No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting." – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
"Every devil I meet becomes a friend of mine." – Indigo Girls
"Those Macintoshes aren't the cute little boxes you think they are." – Elizabeth Zwicky
"Instant gratification is not fast enough." – Suzanne Vega
"Brevity is the soul of lingerie." – Dorothy Parker
"One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being." – May Sarton
"You can't take sides when you know the earth is round." – Patricia Sun
"Love... is the extremely difficult realization that something other than oneself is real." – Iris Murdoch
"I'd rather be a woman than a man. Women can cry, they can wear cute clothes, and they're first to be rescued off sinking ships." – Gilda Radner
"I think you should know I worry a lot. Like the Noble sperm bank. Something bothers me about the world's greatest geniuses sitting around reading pornography and jerking off." – Jane Wagner
"The poor wish to be rich, the rich wish to be happy, the single wish to be married, and the married wish to be dead." – Ann Landers
"The average, healthy, well-adjusted adult gets up at 7:30 in the morning feeling just plain terrible." – Jean Kerr
"If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we are not really living. Growth demands a temporary surrender of security." – Gail Sheehy
"The best index to a person's character is a) how he treats people who can't do him any good and b) how he treats people who can't fight back." – Abigail Van Buren
``Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.'' – Gertrude Stein, American author (1874-1946)
``The best thing to do with the best things in life is to give them up.'' – Dorothy Day, American social activist (1897-1980)
"Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it."– Hellen Keller
"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us."– Hellen Keller
I always though that the great high privilege, relief and comfort of friend ship was that one had to explain nothing -- Katherine Mansfield
The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any. – Alice Walker
What's all this crap about the perfect man? I'd settle for one who has his own car and a steady job. – Mary Rockne
Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after. – Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Can you image anybody wanting to look this way for real? – Dolly Parton
"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try." – Beverly Sills
"The essential conditions of everything you do must be choice, love, passion." – Nadia Boulanger
"I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is. I only know that people call me a feminist when I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute." – Dame Rebecca West
"Art is the only way to run away without leaving Home." – Twyla Tharp
"Being called a poetess brings out the terroristress in me." – Audre Lord
"Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one." – Stella Adler
"If I could tell you what it meant, there would be no point in dancing it." – Isadora Duncan
"As the people here grow colder – I turn to my computer And spend my evenings with it – Like a friend." – Kate Bush
"Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine." – Patti Smith
"Cynicism is an unpleasant way of saying the truth." – Lillian Hellman
"The real fountain of youth is to have a dirty mind." – Model Jerry Hall, The Original Max Talking Headroom Show
"What urge will save us now that sex won't?" – Jenny Holzer, word artist
"Nobody can be exactly like me. Sometimes even I have trouble doing it." – Tallulah Bankhead
"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will piss on your computer." – Elisabeth Riba
"No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting." – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
"Every devil I meet becomes a friend of mine." – Indigo Girls
"Those Macintoshes aren't the cute little boxes you think they are." – Elizabeth Zwicky
"Instant gratification is not fast enough." – Suzanne Vega
"Brevity is the soul of lingerie." – Dorothy Parker
"One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being." – May Sarton
"You can't take sides when you know the earth is round." – Patricia Sun
"Love... is the extremely difficult realization that something other than oneself is real." – Iris Murdoch
"I'd rather be a woman than a man. Women can cry, they can wear cute clothes, and they're first to be rescued off sinking ships." – Gilda Radner
"I think you should know I worry a lot. Like the Noble sperm bank. Something bothers me about the world's greatest geniuses sitting around reading pornography and jerking off." – Jane Wagner
"The poor wish to be rich, the rich wish to be happy, the single wish to be married, and the married wish to be dead." – Ann Landers
"The average, healthy, well-adjusted adult gets up at 7:30 in the morning feeling just plain terrible." – Jean Kerr
"If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we are not really living. Growth demands a temporary surrender of security." – Gail Sheehy
"The best index to a person's character is a) how he treats people who can't do him any good and b) how he treats people who can't fight back." – Abigail Van Buren
``Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.'' – Gertrude Stein, American author (1874-1946)
``The best thing to do with the best things in life is to give them up.'' – Dorothy Day, American social activist (1897-1980)
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Interesting website...
just a note, this site isn't work safe.
Okay, so I'm a pretty sexually driven person, but moreso than sexual, I'm sensually driven. That being said, I was tossed this site a few days ago, by no one other than Rob, a classmate of mine that seems to find the neatest/cutest/funkiest sites out there. He's the same person that got me addicted to kittenwars. The bastard. At any rate, the site is Beautiful Agony, facettes de la petite mort.
In English that means "faces of the little death." By far this is one of the most tasteful, erotic sites I've ever seen in my life. There's no nudity. (excepting shoulders) and the only thing that helps to create the eroticism is the sounds and facial expressions of orgasm. And it's not only women, it's men too. Though, the sample redheaded woman clip offered is fantastic.
There's no indication if it's partnered or self pleasure, so it leaves the viewer with the ability to imagine what is going on. Go ahead, imagine away.
Okay, so I'm a pretty sexually driven person, but moreso than sexual, I'm sensually driven. That being said, I was tossed this site a few days ago, by no one other than Rob, a classmate of mine that seems to find the neatest/cutest/funkiest sites out there. He's the same person that got me addicted to kittenwars. The bastard. At any rate, the site is Beautiful Agony, facettes de la petite mort.
In English that means "faces of the little death." By far this is one of the most tasteful, erotic sites I've ever seen in my life. There's no nudity. (excepting shoulders) and the only thing that helps to create the eroticism is the sounds and facial expressions of orgasm. And it's not only women, it's men too. Though, the sample redheaded woman clip offered is fantastic.
There's no indication if it's partnered or self pleasure, so it leaves the viewer with the ability to imagine what is going on. Go ahead, imagine away.
Say What?
Linds: So, *name left intentionally blank* has a crush on me.
Dean: Who doesn't?
L: Bah.
L: Nonsense.
L: It's flattering. Really flattering, but, man...
L: It's complicated.
D: You're so Melrose Place.
L: Am not!
L: That's a horrible comparison!
L: I'm at least 90210!
L: Besides, Melrose Place was a shite show.
D: Melrose Place had Insane Kimberly, and a bomb, and like 3 people were killed and brought back to life.
L: Hence, a shite show.
L: There are no explosives in my life, excepting my sex appeal.**
L: *smirks*
L: ... And possibly my sense of humour.**
L: Hey, what are you saying, anyways?
** which backfires on me occasionally.
Dean: Who doesn't?
L: Bah.
L: Nonsense.
L: It's flattering. Really flattering, but, man...
L: It's complicated.
D: You're so Melrose Place.
L: Am not!
L: That's a horrible comparison!
L: I'm at least 90210!
L: Besides, Melrose Place was a shite show.
D: Melrose Place had Insane Kimberly, and a bomb, and like 3 people were killed and brought back to life.
L: Hence, a shite show.
L: There are no explosives in my life, excepting my sex appeal.**
L: *smirks*
L: ... And possibly my sense of humour.**
L: Hey, what are you saying, anyways?
** which backfires on me occasionally.
A Pleasure To Listen To.
Monday, July 18, 2005
Get An Earful.
This is a song done by an Ontario band called King Cobb Steelie entitled "Hello Everything". It's got a slow, sexy groove, and this is definitely a talented group of musicians. They started off as more punk/alternative, and evolved into a funky drum and bass group. It's been haunting my head lately, and I don't have time to do a podcast this week. Or next, from the looks of it. Sorry guys. I'll get on the ball as soon as term is over.
Go take a listen to it here, it'll be up for a week.
Enjoy.
Go take a listen to it here, it'll be up for a week.
Enjoy.
Moderately Offensive Design.
It doesn't really have a title other than this:
*Editors note*
I felt this piece deserved more of an explanation, showing the reasoning behind the way it was arranged, since a lot of thought went into it, and there are small details that could easily be lost when it's been shrunken down to this size.
1) The concept behind this series of images, was to create a representation of the televisual experience that we see on a regular basis. (Okay, those of us who watch television. I'm not one of them.) My teacher for this particular class often assigns rather open ended assignments, leaving our creativity to roam, and at the point in time that the assignment was given to us, I had been browsing the paintings and images of Norman Rockwell, (you may remember a previous post I had written on his imagery of "Rosie The Riveter") finding his work to be both beautiful, and symbolizing an era that has long since faded from the minds of both the American populace, as well as how the world viewed them. The left panel consists of Rockwell's work, the images "Freedom of Speech" (middle image), "The Runaway" (background image) and "A Marine's Homecoming." (forefront).
I wanted to create the notion of these characters, for the most part of being aware of the actions and events occurring in the present, and symbolizing the "innocence" and sense of how the U.S. used to be the purveyors of justice, protecting the world from Fascism, etc. Instead of being seen the way they are today by the world, which is a country that is falling apart at the seams, being both politically torn apart, as well as having horrible issues regarding terrorism, and the all around anger and frustration being aimed at the American nation. A definite juxtapostion from the way they were percieved before. (Excepting the image of the police officer and little boy in the background, I chose to have them being unaware of their surroundings, to symbolize the way that authority was represented in the 40s and 50s compared to the police brutality etc, occurring within the past 25 or so years that has actually been shown in the media, where the occurance of a little boy running away from home, was something to make a lighthearted painting of, rather than the horrors that can happen to children now.)
The second panel, with the center image being one of the characters from Rockwell's "The Swimming Hole", running terrified away from the things that are happening in the present, and back into the safety of the past, behind this is an image of United States Soldiers, from an actual image taken from a soldier's website, the picture was entitled "War Dance" and to view it on it's own is chilling, to say the least.
The third panel consists of the "present". George W. Bush, obviously plays a major part in the politics within the past almost six years, as well as his father, which is a smaller image in the lower left hand side of the tableau. (Note, that somehow on google images I found a picture of him doing the "Sign of the Devil, Dude!". That was a stroke of luck, but I'm not sure if the context and humour usage is fitting for an image like this, but was something I couldn't resist.) Since it's my personal political opinion that Dubya is finishing the war his father started, and also creating his own battles in the process for the country. All of the images of soldiers are actual images from Iraq, including the picture of the soldier holding the mostly decapitated body of a toddler, recovered from the site where a bomb had recently landed, (This image nauseated me) as well as the image of the little girl that has serious facial injuries. These are all innocent victims of the war against Iraq, and every image was picked with a purpose. The burning twin towers in the background, while I debated on choosing them, since the issue has been beaten to death, are a sign that the United States is NOT as impervious as it thinks it is, and that the actions they take against other groups and countries will not always be taken lying down. Not that I condone the behaviour of the Al Quieda in the least, but most individuals can admit to the fact that the U.S. certainly took that as a shocker.
All of these images were appropriated online, from various media sources, military troop sites, political protest sites. All of them were found using the Google images search feature.
Technical aspects of the piece:
In the original, each tableau panel is 11 inches across by 17 inches tall, (combined it is 33 inches across, by 17 inches tall.) the resolution is set to 300 dots per inch, and the colour is designated as CMYK, for print resolution and not screen the original file size was a staggering 191 megs, and is meant to be a printed piece. The tableau panels set as you see them in the screen image are created from the originals. These have all been changed for screen resolution, (72 ppi, RGB. 1024 by 498 pixels.)
I know it may seem like I'm being anal, explaining it when you guys could come to your own conclusions about it, and by all means, interpret it as you will. I just wanted to give the piece it's due. I worked pretty hard on it.
Americana, Then and Now; The Media's portrayal of American Society.
*Editors note*
I felt this piece deserved more of an explanation, showing the reasoning behind the way it was arranged, since a lot of thought went into it, and there are small details that could easily be lost when it's been shrunken down to this size.
1) The concept behind this series of images, was to create a representation of the televisual experience that we see on a regular basis. (Okay, those of us who watch television. I'm not one of them.) My teacher for this particular class often assigns rather open ended assignments, leaving our creativity to roam, and at the point in time that the assignment was given to us, I had been browsing the paintings and images of Norman Rockwell, (you may remember a previous post I had written on his imagery of "Rosie The Riveter") finding his work to be both beautiful, and symbolizing an era that has long since faded from the minds of both the American populace, as well as how the world viewed them. The left panel consists of Rockwell's work, the images "Freedom of Speech" (middle image), "The Runaway" (background image) and "A Marine's Homecoming." (forefront).
I wanted to create the notion of these characters, for the most part of being aware of the actions and events occurring in the present, and symbolizing the "innocence" and sense of how the U.S. used to be the purveyors of justice, protecting the world from Fascism, etc. Instead of being seen the way they are today by the world, which is a country that is falling apart at the seams, being both politically torn apart, as well as having horrible issues regarding terrorism, and the all around anger and frustration being aimed at the American nation. A definite juxtapostion from the way they were percieved before. (Excepting the image of the police officer and little boy in the background, I chose to have them being unaware of their surroundings, to symbolize the way that authority was represented in the 40s and 50s compared to the police brutality etc, occurring within the past 25 or so years that has actually been shown in the media, where the occurance of a little boy running away from home, was something to make a lighthearted painting of, rather than the horrors that can happen to children now.)
The second panel, with the center image being one of the characters from Rockwell's "The Swimming Hole", running terrified away from the things that are happening in the present, and back into the safety of the past, behind this is an image of United States Soldiers, from an actual image taken from a soldier's website, the picture was entitled "War Dance" and to view it on it's own is chilling, to say the least.
The third panel consists of the "present". George W. Bush, obviously plays a major part in the politics within the past almost six years, as well as his father, which is a smaller image in the lower left hand side of the tableau. (Note, that somehow on google images I found a picture of him doing the "Sign of the Devil, Dude!". That was a stroke of luck, but I'm not sure if the context and humour usage is fitting for an image like this, but was something I couldn't resist.) Since it's my personal political opinion that Dubya is finishing the war his father started, and also creating his own battles in the process for the country. All of the images of soldiers are actual images from Iraq, including the picture of the soldier holding the mostly decapitated body of a toddler, recovered from the site where a bomb had recently landed, (This image nauseated me) as well as the image of the little girl that has serious facial injuries. These are all innocent victims of the war against Iraq, and every image was picked with a purpose. The burning twin towers in the background, while I debated on choosing them, since the issue has been beaten to death, are a sign that the United States is NOT as impervious as it thinks it is, and that the actions they take against other groups and countries will not always be taken lying down. Not that I condone the behaviour of the Al Quieda in the least, but most individuals can admit to the fact that the U.S. certainly took that as a shocker.
All of these images were appropriated online, from various media sources, military troop sites, political protest sites. All of them were found using the Google images search feature.
Technical aspects of the piece:
In the original, each tableau panel is 11 inches across by 17 inches tall, (combined it is 33 inches across, by 17 inches tall.) the resolution is set to 300 dots per inch, and the colour is designated as CMYK, for print resolution and not screen the original file size was a staggering 191 megs, and is meant to be a printed piece. The tableau panels set as you see them in the screen image are created from the originals. These have all been changed for screen resolution, (72 ppi, RGB. 1024 by 498 pixels.)
I know it may seem like I'm being anal, explaining it when you guys could come to your own conclusions about it, and by all means, interpret it as you will. I just wanted to give the piece it's due. I worked pretty hard on it.
Enough Wishy Washy Shite.
I've had enough of wallowing in my own misery. This'll be brief, because school, is damned near exhausting me and I'm thisclose to end of term. Three more weeks to go, much to my shock and horror. Shock because it doesn't feel like two and a half months have already gone by. Horror, because I'm fucking overloaded with work, have been neglecting my friends, sleep and any semblance of a social life. Waaah, waaah, wah. I know, I know. The end is near, and that I have a month off in between terms. I'm thinking of asking a friend if I can hook up with him for some landscaping work during break, to make some moolah.
Today I chose to wear a shirt that had sparkles on it. I got it on sale yesterday, and I've been inadvertently touching my shirt, ending up with sparklies on my hands, then touching my face and hair. Nothing spectacular, excepting the comment I made in retort to Devin's this afternoon, that had me in near hysterics. Mid-class, I said by the end of the day it would look like Siegfried and Roy chose to play the bukake Princes (or is that princess?) on my face. Sometimes, I just KILL myself. I was on a roll today with him, and after his initial "Eeeeeewwwwww!!" I'm sure I had him giggling in DFW as well. Score one for the Canadian chick.
My jokes aren't always tasteful, but they are usually pretty fucking funny.
Today I chose to wear a shirt that had sparkles on it. I got it on sale yesterday, and I've been inadvertently touching my shirt, ending up with sparklies on my hands, then touching my face and hair. Nothing spectacular, excepting the comment I made in retort to Devin's this afternoon, that had me in near hysterics. Mid-class, I said by the end of the day it would look like Siegfried and Roy chose to play the bukake Princes (or is that princess?) on my face. Sometimes, I just KILL myself. I was on a roll today with him, and after his initial "Eeeeeewwwwww!!" I'm sure I had him giggling in DFW as well. Score one for the Canadian chick.
My jokes aren't always tasteful, but they are usually pretty fucking funny.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Well Then...
Music Of The Moment: Norah Jones; Album: "Come Away With Me"
The last few days have been a little confusing emotionally, and my heart hurts right now. It's complicated...
Erik's goodbye party was last night, and I was truly sad to see the first person who made me realize my own self-worth as a woman leave for three years to Ontario. It didn't help that I was quite drunk at the Bourbon. I started crying watching Allison say goodbye to him, before I had even said mine. He'll be back for visits for business, but still, Vancouver is going to be lonelier for me than it was with him here, chilling at his place in gastown and eating great, cheap pizza and watching South Park and the Daily Show on a Friday night.
I can't, and didn't say that I love him.
I do though.
Not the way I did while I was his girlfriend, but I love him the way you love a friend that you couldn't imagine life without, and it's hard. It's hard even explaining it right now, without getting a little caught up. It's hard reading it again to edit my writing as well.
He is the person that comes with me to take photographs in scummy areas of town, part bodyguard, part something else undefined, someone that strokes my ego, (in a good way) and always someone that tolerated my addiction to snapping pictures of brick walls, graffiti, and my wanderings in the less savoury parts of town that I find intreguing. All with witty comments and conversations filled with laughter and politics.
Such is life, I guess, and even though I'll miss him like hell while he's gone... I'm still incredibly proud of him for turning harsh adversity into triumph. Lemons into lemonade, indeed.
Good on ya, Erik.
Today was my Grandmothers 74th birthday party. Unfortunately, I wasn't even aware that yesterday was actually her birthday, and I feel like a complete fucking ass for not knowing. Flowers fix everything, hopefully, to cover my familial faux pas.
All of my family members were here today, and I spent some quality time with my mom, who I rarely get to see. My mom has gotten even more gentle in personality, but still has the laugh I remember when I was a kid. My dad comes over quite frequently, being that I live at his mothers house, but usually alone, to fix the stuff that goes awry in the house. I cuddled my little cousins, Ashley and Curtis, the former being angelic in countenance and behaviour, and the latter being a monkey. A monkey that looks like a hobbit, (read: Adorable) but man-o-man, that kid gets into everything, and has the attention span of a toothpick regarding adult requests. A photo manipulation turning him into a hobbit toddler is going to be in the works rather soon. I promised his mom a copy of the photo via email for her MSN picture. Seriously, Curtis is cuter than any child I've ever seen.
My family is huge. I'm the oldest of the cousins at a ripe old age of 25 followed closely by Shannon (23) and her brother Andrew (20), and then the wee kids, Christopher (8), Ashley (6) and Curtis (4). I have 4 uncles and one aunt, and each uncle/aunt has two to three children and obviously, a spouse. We're close, candid and have wicked senses of humour, ranging from the biting sarcasm of my Auntie Lise, to the dry humour of my Uncle Carlyle. My Auntie Pat is still a delight to be around, and My Auntie Eva with her shy smile and amazing patience with her children. I've never seen a woman so well suited to motherhood in my life.
I got into heated debate with my Uncle Marc, who loves to razz me on my politics, often calling me a "commie-pinko-liberal". It's fun to retort that he's getting surly in his old age, and that conservatism has blackened his soul from burning the dreams of others. He threatens to slap me with "the belt", to learn me good, quickly shot down by telling him that I can see the mad gleam of sadism in his eyes, which would work with most of the conservatives I've met. (obviously it's tongue in cheek, Mayor, Fenris, others, so get your panties out of a knot, already.)
I got in a half-assed water fight with my dad, though I lost pitifully, since he's about three times stronger than I am physically, and turned the water bottle over my head. I still got him wet though, which is enough satisfaction for me. He's obsessed with astronomy and photography (I wonder how I got that obsession, eh?) and managed to take a seven to ten minute time lapse from the corner of the yard with his amazing camera, that snapped a picture every 30 seconds across a period of three to four hours. The camera turns the images into a quicktime movie. It's pretty awesome to watch, with the canopy being put together in lightening fast speed, and the constant parade of relatives in and out of the house, and gathering under the canopy to socialize and tease each other. I know for a fact there's probably ten seconds alone of all the women discussing politics underneath the canopy early on in the film, and a section with all the men hovering around the barbeque, prodding meat with forks and things and making references to various Mel Brooks films (I gave my dad a collectors edition of Blazing Saddles, much to his delight.) and the Trailer Park Boys.
Interesting familial dynamics, to say the least.
I ate so much amazing food that I hurt, and am seriously contemplating curling up in bed for a few hours, since I'm hungover from last night, tired and very, very full. It's nice to know that even though I feel alone, I've got my family to come back to. That's not a luxury that a lot of people have, and I know I'm lucky to have that in my life.
The last few days have been a little confusing emotionally, and my heart hurts right now. It's complicated...
Erik's goodbye party was last night, and I was truly sad to see the first person who made me realize my own self-worth as a woman leave for three years to Ontario. It didn't help that I was quite drunk at the Bourbon. I started crying watching Allison say goodbye to him, before I had even said mine. He'll be back for visits for business, but still, Vancouver is going to be lonelier for me than it was with him here, chilling at his place in gastown and eating great, cheap pizza and watching South Park and the Daily Show on a Friday night.
I can't, and didn't say that I love him.
I do though.
Not the way I did while I was his girlfriend, but I love him the way you love a friend that you couldn't imagine life without, and it's hard. It's hard even explaining it right now, without getting a little caught up. It's hard reading it again to edit my writing as well.
He is the person that comes with me to take photographs in scummy areas of town, part bodyguard, part something else undefined, someone that strokes my ego, (in a good way) and always someone that tolerated my addiction to snapping pictures of brick walls, graffiti, and my wanderings in the less savoury parts of town that I find intreguing. All with witty comments and conversations filled with laughter and politics.
Such is life, I guess, and even though I'll miss him like hell while he's gone... I'm still incredibly proud of him for turning harsh adversity into triumph. Lemons into lemonade, indeed.
Good on ya, Erik.
Today was my Grandmothers 74th birthday party. Unfortunately, I wasn't even aware that yesterday was actually her birthday, and I feel like a complete fucking ass for not knowing. Flowers fix everything, hopefully, to cover my familial faux pas.
All of my family members were here today, and I spent some quality time with my mom, who I rarely get to see. My mom has gotten even more gentle in personality, but still has the laugh I remember when I was a kid. My dad comes over quite frequently, being that I live at his mothers house, but usually alone, to fix the stuff that goes awry in the house. I cuddled my little cousins, Ashley and Curtis, the former being angelic in countenance and behaviour, and the latter being a monkey. A monkey that looks like a hobbit, (read: Adorable) but man-o-man, that kid gets into everything, and has the attention span of a toothpick regarding adult requests. A photo manipulation turning him into a hobbit toddler is going to be in the works rather soon. I promised his mom a copy of the photo via email for her MSN picture. Seriously, Curtis is cuter than any child I've ever seen.
My family is huge. I'm the oldest of the cousins at a ripe old age of 25 followed closely by Shannon (23) and her brother Andrew (20), and then the wee kids, Christopher (8), Ashley (6) and Curtis (4). I have 4 uncles and one aunt, and each uncle/aunt has two to three children and obviously, a spouse. We're close, candid and have wicked senses of humour, ranging from the biting sarcasm of my Auntie Lise, to the dry humour of my Uncle Carlyle. My Auntie Pat is still a delight to be around, and My Auntie Eva with her shy smile and amazing patience with her children. I've never seen a woman so well suited to motherhood in my life.
I got into heated debate with my Uncle Marc, who loves to razz me on my politics, often calling me a "commie-pinko-liberal". It's fun to retort that he's getting surly in his old age, and that conservatism has blackened his soul from burning the dreams of others. He threatens to slap me with "the belt", to learn me good, quickly shot down by telling him that I can see the mad gleam of sadism in his eyes, which would work with most of the conservatives I've met. (obviously it's tongue in cheek, Mayor, Fenris, others, so get your panties out of a knot, already.)
I got in a half-assed water fight with my dad, though I lost pitifully, since he's about three times stronger than I am physically, and turned the water bottle over my head. I still got him wet though, which is enough satisfaction for me. He's obsessed with astronomy and photography (I wonder how I got that obsession, eh?) and managed to take a seven to ten minute time lapse from the corner of the yard with his amazing camera, that snapped a picture every 30 seconds across a period of three to four hours. The camera turns the images into a quicktime movie. It's pretty awesome to watch, with the canopy being put together in lightening fast speed, and the constant parade of relatives in and out of the house, and gathering under the canopy to socialize and tease each other. I know for a fact there's probably ten seconds alone of all the women discussing politics underneath the canopy early on in the film, and a section with all the men hovering around the barbeque, prodding meat with forks and things and making references to various Mel Brooks films (I gave my dad a collectors edition of Blazing Saddles, much to his delight.) and the Trailer Park Boys.
Interesting familial dynamics, to say the least.
I ate so much amazing food that I hurt, and am seriously contemplating curling up in bed for a few hours, since I'm hungover from last night, tired and very, very full. It's nice to know that even though I feel alone, I've got my family to come back to. That's not a luxury that a lot of people have, and I know I'm lucky to have that in my life.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Well...
Let's hope I win the lottery.
If that's the case, my bills, school and debts are paid off, and every close aquaintance I have in the Lower Mainland (and in other locations) is invited up, full paid for stay in Vancouver for a week to party it up in style...
I bought my ticket, fate kinda tickled me under the chin today. Did you?
There's always dreams, eh? *sighs*
If that's the case, my bills, school and debts are paid off, and every close aquaintance I have in the Lower Mainland (and in other locations) is invited up, full paid for stay in Vancouver for a week to party it up in style...
I bought my ticket, fate kinda tickled me under the chin today. Did you?
There's always dreams, eh? *sighs*
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
And now, for something completely different...
I found this meme on Pediddle's blog. Very neat concept.
BOLD THE ONES YOU'VE DONE*
smoked a cigarette
smoked a cigar
madeout with a member of the same sex
crashed a friend's car
stolen a car
been in love
been dumped
shoplifted
been fired
been in a fist fight
snuck out of my parent's house
had feelings for someone who didnt have them back
been arrested
made out with a stranger
gone on a blind date
lied to a friend
had a crush on a teacher
been to Europe
skipped school
slept with a co-worker
seen someone die
had a crush on one of your LJ friends (Uhm... What the hell is an LJ?)
been to Canada
been to Mexico
been on a plane
thrown up in a bar
purposely set a part of myself on fire
eaten Sushi
been snowboarding
met someone in person from LJ (again, what the hell is LJ?)
been moshing at a concert
been in an abusive relationship
taken painkillers
love someone or miss someone right now
laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by
made a snow angel
had a tea party
flown a kite
built a sand castle
gone puddle jumping
played dress up
jumped into a pile of leaves
gone sledding
cheated while playing a game
been lonely
fallen asleep at work/school
used a fake id
watched the sunset
felt an earthquake
touched a snake
slept beneath the stars
been tickled
been robbed
been misunderstood
petted a reindeer/goat
won a contest
run a red light
been suspended from school
been in a car accident
had braces
felt like an outcast
eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night
had deja vu
danced in the moonlight
hated the way you look
witnessed a crime
pole danced
questioned your heart
been obsessed with post-it notes
squished barefoot through the mud
been lost
been to the opposite side of the country
swam in the ocean
felt like dying
cried yourself to sleep
played cops and robbers
recently colored with crayons/colored pencils/markers
sung karaoke
paid for a meal with only coins
done something you told yourself you wouldn't
made prank phone calls
laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
caught a snowflake on your tongue
danced in the rain
written a letter to Santa Claus
been kissed under a mistletoe
watched the sun rise with someone you care about
blown bubbles
made a bonfire on the beach
crashed a party
gone rollerskating
had a wish come true
humped a monkey
worn pearls
jumped off a bridge
screamed penis in class
ate dog/cat food
told a complete stranger you loved them
kissed a mirror
sang in the shower
have a little black dress
had a dream that you married someone
glued your hand to something
got your tongue stuck to a flag pole
kissed a fish
worn the opposite sex's clothes
been a cheerleader
sat on a roof top
screamed at the top of your lungs
done a one-handed cartwheel
talked on the phone for more than 6 hours
stayed up all night
didn't take a shower for a week
pick and ate an apple right off the tree
climbed a tree
had a tree house
are scared to watch scary movies
believe in ghosts
have more then 30 pairs of shoes
worn a really ugly outfit to school just to see what others say
gone streaking
played ding-dong-ditch
played chicken
been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on -> even shoes.
been told you're hot by a complete stranger
broken a bone
been easily amused
caught a fish then ate it
made porn
caught a butterfly (no, I don't like flying things. remember?)
laughed so hard you cried
cried so hard you laughed
cheated on a test
have a Britney Spears CD
forgotten someone's name
slept naked
French braided someone's hair
gone skinny dippin in a pool
been threatened to be kicked out of your house
been kicked out your house
Is it any surprise I always get "out" first when I play "I Never" with a group of friends? *sighs*
BOLD THE ONES YOU'VE DONE*
smoked a cigarette
smoked a cigar
madeout with a member of the same sex
crashed a friend's car
stolen a car
been in love
been dumped
shoplifted
been fired
been in a fist fight
snuck out of my parent's house
had feelings for someone who didnt have them back
been arrested
made out with a stranger
gone on a blind date
lied to a friend
had a crush on a teacher
been to Europe
skipped school
slept with a co-worker
seen someone die
had a crush on one of your LJ friends (Uhm... What the hell is an LJ?)
been to Canada
been to Mexico
been on a plane
thrown up in a bar
purposely set a part of myself on fire
eaten Sushi
been snowboarding
met someone in person from LJ (again, what the hell is LJ?)
been moshing at a concert
been in an abusive relationship
taken painkillers
love someone or miss someone right now
laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by
made a snow angel
had a tea party
flown a kite
built a sand castle
gone puddle jumping
played dress up
jumped into a pile of leaves
gone sledding
cheated while playing a game
been lonely
fallen asleep at work/school
used a fake id
watched the sunset
felt an earthquake
touched a snake
slept beneath the stars
been tickled
been robbed
been misunderstood
petted a reindeer/goat
won a contest
run a red light
been suspended from school
been in a car accident
had braces
felt like an outcast
eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night
had deja vu
danced in the moonlight
hated the way you look
witnessed a crime
pole danced
questioned your heart
been obsessed with post-it notes
squished barefoot through the mud
been lost
been to the opposite side of the country
swam in the ocean
felt like dying
cried yourself to sleep
played cops and robbers
recently colored with crayons/colored pencils/markers
sung karaoke
paid for a meal with only coins
done something you told yourself you wouldn't
made prank phone calls
laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
caught a snowflake on your tongue
danced in the rain
written a letter to Santa Claus
been kissed under a mistletoe
watched the sun rise with someone you care about
blown bubbles
made a bonfire on the beach
crashed a party
gone rollerskating
had a wish come true
humped a monkey
worn pearls
jumped off a bridge
screamed penis in class
ate dog/cat food
told a complete stranger you loved them
kissed a mirror
sang in the shower
have a little black dress
had a dream that you married someone
glued your hand to something
got your tongue stuck to a flag pole
kissed a fish
worn the opposite sex's clothes
been a cheerleader
sat on a roof top
screamed at the top of your lungs
done a one-handed cartwheel
talked on the phone for more than 6 hours
stayed up all night
didn't take a shower for a week
pick and ate an apple right off the tree
climbed a tree
had a tree house
are scared to watch scary movies
believe in ghosts
have more then 30 pairs of shoes
worn a really ugly outfit to school just to see what others say
gone streaking
played ding-dong-ditch
played chicken
been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on -> even shoes.
been told you're hot by a complete stranger
broken a bone
been easily amused
caught a fish then ate it
made porn
caught a butterfly (no, I don't like flying things. remember?)
laughed so hard you cried
cried so hard you laughed
cheated on a test
have a Britney Spears CD
forgotten someone's name
slept naked
French braided someone's hair
gone skinny dippin in a pool
been threatened to be kicked out of your house
been kicked out your house
Is it any surprise I always get "out" first when I play "I Never" with a group of friends? *sighs*
Monday, July 11, 2005
Satan's Handmaiden...
Music Of The Moment: Conjure One, The album: "Conjure One."
I'm in the process of creating a moderately offensive piece of design. Okay, it's only offensive if you happen to be Conservative, American, Anti-choice and are pro the war against Iraq. Fortunately, that's not a large percentage of my readership, and it's a very small percentage of me. Pretty much none. Though, I have had some American in me, but I don't think that's really what I was going for. I'm enjoying exercising my political opinion. Sparingly of course, but I'm still saying something.
It's actually remarkably put together, as a collage piece, and if I deem it suitable it will be useful in my portfolio. If not this term, than next term. I've done a few pieces that are quite nice possible portfolio additions in the past two weeks, and I'm happy about that, I was feeling like I was in a rut for a while, but it's really that we've been spending so much time learning different programs, that we haven't had much of an opportunity to design stuff.
I spent a portion of my afternoon searching for images on Google images, of abortion, and various imagery from the war in Iraq of unpleasant things. My heart hurts. A few images almost had me in tears, and it wasn't all that pleasant. Such is life. I don't think I would have chosen such a difficult subject matter if I wasn't opinionated about the topics in it. and found them important to me.
I'm horrified at the method that the religious right in the United States and Canada has been using to scare women into not choosing an abortion, if that's what they are leaning towards, and seeking information online. It's devolved into using horrific images of diced up foetuses and foetuses in garbage cans (obviously manipulated imagery, I should know. Photoshop is a fantastic tool.) as anti-choice propoganda. These are NOT facts, these are pictures intended to arouse anger and resentment against those who are pro-choice. Thier sole purpose is so shock and offend. Offensive they certainly are. The goal of most pro-life organizations is to focus on emotion, rather than reason. focusing on guilt, on sadness, anger, and a majority of them focus on religious indignation. It's not the right way to approach something like this.
I'm all for women being able to get the information they need, but what they need is unbiased opinions on Abortion methods, or alternatives. Women that are experiencing an unwanted, (or even, an unsure pregnancy) need a place that gives them that information. I've had my own personal experience at the age of 18, walking into a clinic that unbeknownst to me, was pro-life, and once I told them the decision I had made, (in a questionairre, no less) I sat there and was berated, while the woman berating me called an "angry little girl" and told me that I didn't know what a horrible choice I was making. I left sobbing, very, very angry and most definitely NOT a little girl.. I left with handfuls of Christian propoganda that I read through, (Yes, even furious, I read through it.) and promptly tossed into the garbage. They were focussing on emotion, rather than reason. The same organization helped one of my best friends when she dealt with an unexpected pregnancy, giving her basic supplies for her son, prenatal vitamins, and other accoutrement when she had decided to keep her son. To each their own decision, and I couldn't imagine life without my nephew in it.
I'm pro-choice, in case you couldn't tell. Yes, that's right. I'm Satan's handmaiden, I'm the whore of Bielzebub, and I'll burn forever in the eternal fiery flames that are Hell. I'll manage somehow, I'm sure. Being pro-choice doesn't make me evil, it doesn't make me a bad person, or mean that I don't respect life. Excepting moths, which I'm more terrified of than disrespectful, I appreciate ALL life.
In Canada, women are not allowed to have an abortion after nine weeks post conception. I agree with this. If you haven't managed to get your shit together nine weeks after finding out that you've been knocked up, then you push that kid out, and you either manage to raise it properly, or you give that baby up for adoption. This is where I waver from the general consensus of my fellow pro-life libertarians.
Abortion should not be an out if you're using it as a regular birth control device. That's what condoms and the birth control pill were created for. If you can't shell out seven bucks for a box of condoms, take a trip to the local pharmacy for the Morning after Pill, (9 dollars) or pay 15 bucks a month at Planned Parenthood for a box of birth control pills, well, then you shouldn't be fucking in the first place.
What I'm getting at here, is the fact that every woman, regardless of age, race, or ethnicity, has the right to decide whether or not she wants carry a pregnancy to term, or even if she's willing to become pregnant in the first place. (This is why I have such a beef against the Roman Catholics, and their refusal to accept Birth Control as a feasible method to control unwanted pregnancy.) By keeping abortion legal, you're keeping it safe, sanitary, and you're gaining the loyalty and patriotism of the individuals that have to go through that process. There's no way in hell that abortions should be self induced via coat hangers, turpentine or physical violence, threatening the life of the woman undertaking that prospect. That's just barbaric in this day and age when scientific and medical technology is so advanced. To tell a woman that she does not have a say in whether or not she brings a child into this world is a direct infringment upon her personal freedoms and individual rights. Why not take away women's right to vote, and hell, while your at it, clap those pesky African-Americans in chains again. Bomb Japan, hell, they deserve it. I mean honestly, get real.
George W. Bush is balls-out determined to rid the United States of Roe Vs. Wade, and I'm dreading what's going to happen if he ever manages to get that law revoked. The scariest part of that thought, is the fact that Dubya doesn't have to watch who's toes he treads on now. He's got a little under three years left in office, and he can't run for election again as U.S. president, having run for two full terms in power. That means he's going to push every single constitutional repeal he can think of, all the ones that his party stands against, or that he stands against personally, revoking the rights that people have fought so hard to gain.
Yeah, He's holy alright. A holy terror. (And no, I wish I had done this image, but I didn't. It's clever though, eh?)
Oh, Hate mail can be directed HERE, but I'm warning you, I might just post hate mail and make fun of you.
Forewarned is forearmed. I'm about to go on one helluva political rant. (Left-wing, of course.)
I'm in the process of creating a moderately offensive piece of design. Okay, it's only offensive if you happen to be Conservative, American, Anti-choice and are pro the war against Iraq. Fortunately, that's not a large percentage of my readership, and it's a very small percentage of me. Pretty much none. Though, I have had some American in me, but I don't think that's really what I was going for. I'm enjoying exercising my political opinion. Sparingly of course, but I'm still saying something.
It's actually remarkably put together, as a collage piece, and if I deem it suitable it will be useful in my portfolio. If not this term, than next term. I've done a few pieces that are quite nice possible portfolio additions in the past two weeks, and I'm happy about that, I was feeling like I was in a rut for a while, but it's really that we've been spending so much time learning different programs, that we haven't had much of an opportunity to design stuff.
I spent a portion of my afternoon searching for images on Google images, of abortion, and various imagery from the war in Iraq of unpleasant things. My heart hurts. A few images almost had me in tears, and it wasn't all that pleasant. Such is life. I don't think I would have chosen such a difficult subject matter if I wasn't opinionated about the topics in it. and found them important to me.
I'm horrified at the method that the religious right in the United States and Canada has been using to scare women into not choosing an abortion, if that's what they are leaning towards, and seeking information online. It's devolved into using horrific images of diced up foetuses and foetuses in garbage cans (obviously manipulated imagery, I should know. Photoshop is a fantastic tool.) as anti-choice propoganda. These are NOT facts, these are pictures intended to arouse anger and resentment against those who are pro-choice. Thier sole purpose is so shock and offend. Offensive they certainly are. The goal of most pro-life organizations is to focus on emotion, rather than reason. focusing on guilt, on sadness, anger, and a majority of them focus on religious indignation. It's not the right way to approach something like this.I'm all for women being able to get the information they need, but what they need is unbiased opinions on Abortion methods, or alternatives. Women that are experiencing an unwanted, (or even, an unsure pregnancy) need a place that gives them that information. I've had my own personal experience at the age of 18, walking into a clinic that unbeknownst to me, was pro-life, and once I told them the decision I had made, (in a questionairre, no less) I sat there and was berated, while the woman berating me called an "angry little girl" and told me that I didn't know what a horrible choice I was making. I left sobbing, very, very angry and most definitely NOT a little girl.. I left with handfuls of Christian propoganda that I read through, (Yes, even furious, I read through it.) and promptly tossed into the garbage. They were focussing on emotion, rather than reason. The same organization helped one of my best friends when she dealt with an unexpected pregnancy, giving her basic supplies for her son, prenatal vitamins, and other accoutrement when she had decided to keep her son. To each their own decision, and I couldn't imagine life without my nephew in it.
I'm pro-choice, in case you couldn't tell. Yes, that's right. I'm Satan's handmaiden, I'm the whore of Bielzebub, and I'll burn forever in the eternal fiery flames that are Hell. I'll manage somehow, I'm sure. Being pro-choice doesn't make me evil, it doesn't make me a bad person, or mean that I don't respect life. Excepting moths, which I'm more terrified of than disrespectful, I appreciate ALL life.
In Canada, women are not allowed to have an abortion after nine weeks post conception. I agree with this. If you haven't managed to get your shit together nine weeks after finding out that you've been knocked up, then you push that kid out, and you either manage to raise it properly, or you give that baby up for adoption. This is where I waver from the general consensus of my fellow pro-life libertarians.
Abortion should not be an out if you're using it as a regular birth control device. That's what condoms and the birth control pill were created for. If you can't shell out seven bucks for a box of condoms, take a trip to the local pharmacy for the Morning after Pill, (9 dollars) or pay 15 bucks a month at Planned Parenthood for a box of birth control pills, well, then you shouldn't be fucking in the first place.
What I'm getting at here, is the fact that every woman, regardless of age, race, or ethnicity, has the right to decide whether or not she wants carry a pregnancy to term, or even if she's willing to become pregnant in the first place. (This is why I have such a beef against the Roman Catholics, and their refusal to accept Birth Control as a feasible method to control unwanted pregnancy.) By keeping abortion legal, you're keeping it safe, sanitary, and you're gaining the loyalty and patriotism of the individuals that have to go through that process. There's no way in hell that abortions should be self induced via coat hangers, turpentine or physical violence, threatening the life of the woman undertaking that prospect. That's just barbaric in this day and age when scientific and medical technology is so advanced. To tell a woman that she does not have a say in whether or not she brings a child into this world is a direct infringment upon her personal freedoms and individual rights. Why not take away women's right to vote, and hell, while your at it, clap those pesky African-Americans in chains again. Bomb Japan, hell, they deserve it. I mean honestly, get real.
George W. Bush is balls-out determined to rid the United States of Roe Vs. Wade, and I'm dreading what's going to happen if he ever manages to get that law revoked. The scariest part of that thought, is the fact that Dubya doesn't have to watch who's toes he treads on now. He's got a little under three years left in office, and he can't run for election again as U.S. president, having run for two full terms in power. That means he's going to push every single constitutional repeal he can think of, all the ones that his party stands against, or that he stands against personally, revoking the rights that people have fought so hard to gain.Yeah, He's holy alright. A holy terror. (And no, I wish I had done this image, but I didn't. It's clever though, eh?)
Oh, Hate mail can be directed HERE, but I'm warning you, I might just post hate mail and make fun of you.
Thar be Ships!!
Vancouver recently had a tall ships festival, and though this unfortunately is NOT my picture, I did not take it, flickr.com allowed me to find keywords and tags for the tall ships festival via it's search engine.
Photograph is courtesy of Dr. Gav on Flickr.com.
Photograph is courtesy of Dr. Gav on Flickr.com.
Neat!
Since today's date is 7-11, 7-11 stores in Vancouver at least are giving out free slurpees.
Go get yourself some free sugar.
Go get yourself some free sugar.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Friday, July 08, 2005
These Boots Are Made For Walking...
The GSD Podcast for Friday, July 8th is up and running...
This week, I was in a mellow mood. Okay, this was before my Typography Spanish Inquisition, So when I started to slap this bad boy together I was in a mellow mood. Lots of guitar tracks, a couple classic 90's R&B tunes, including Us3, Beck, Audioslave, Foo Fighters, Etta James, Pearl Jam, Sarah McLachlan, and a surprise end track that I was wanting to hear, subject you guys to, and had to search for. Life isn't all fun and games you know. I had to work for this one.
It's not all pussy girl music, there's also some Horrorpops in there. It's not all slow tempo tunes either. This ain't no KISS FM. This is GSD Radio.
If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do so with this here linky.
This week, I was in a mellow mood. Okay, this was before my Typography Spanish Inquisition, So when I started to slap this bad boy together I was in a mellow mood. Lots of guitar tracks, a couple classic 90's R&B tunes, including Us3, Beck, Audioslave, Foo Fighters, Etta James, Pearl Jam, Sarah McLachlan, and a surprise end track that I was wanting to hear, subject you guys to, and had to search for. Life isn't all fun and games you know. I had to work for this one.
It's not all pussy girl music, there's also some Horrorpops in there. It's not all slow tempo tunes either. This ain't no KISS FM. This is GSD Radio.
If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do so with this here linky.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Man-O-Man.
This is entirely a bitch session about school. No Doot aboot it.
I spent seven hours, as stated last entry, fiddling with various aspects of type, trying to create two two-page magazine spreads and a magazine cover for my typography class. Now, I know that I'm no typography genius. I'm good with words when I WRITE them, and I just want the bedamned things to look decent when they are on printed matter.
Okay. So, seven hours of typography, crawling into bed at three fifteen in the morning, and when my alarm went off at nine am, It felt like my head had just hit the pillow two seconds beforehand. I'm LATE to class (I fucking HATE public transit sometimes) by twenty minutes, because no one downtown knows how to effing well DRIVE during daytime hours near the Vancouver Public Library. Retards. All of them. I'm so tempted sometimes to holler at the bus driver "HEY GRANDMA! CAN WE GET A MOVE ON, ALREADY? THE LIGHT'S FUCKING GREEN! THAT MEANS GO!" but refrain.
I get to class, only to find it's a work period, and because I was late, I have five minutes LESS critique time than everybody else in class for the spreads I busted my ass over the night prior, and when I finally get to talk to him the last 15 minutes of class, EVERY SINGLE SPREAD gets shot down. *sighs*
It's enough to make me want to break down crying, when I worked so damned hard on them, when I knew that they needed some more tweaking, but that overall I was happy with the aesthetic of the pages. How the hell am I supposed to be as good at typesetting as someone who's been playing with a fucking printing press half of his life and finds typesetting to be his passion? I'm NOT. Not six months into the course, and not two years into design. I won't be as slick at it as he is until I've had five years, minimum.
I'm not the only one mired in negativity in my class, either. And it's becoming very, VERY obvious that out of the eight of us in second term, eight of us are worried, unhappy and concerned with the lack of quality portfolio stuff that our assignments this term so far have provided for us.
So, how does one reward themselves, to lighten their mood and bring them out of this solid blue funk? Easy. Get a haircut. Have a hairdresser massage the HELL out of your scalp. Buy some chocolate, ignore homework for the night, and curl up reading a novel until you fall asleep.
That's the plan for the night. Fuck it.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Armed to the teeth...
With an Extra-Sweet, Triple-shot Venti Vanilla Latte, a container of last nights leftover spaghetti and a pumpkin scone, Linds settles down to a seven hour marathon of typography homework. It's almost ten thirty at night, and I'm planning on seeing how long I can take staring at the screen, fiddling with letterforms, until my eyes glaze over and I fall asleep on the keyboard of my laptop.
What I really want to do is curl up in bed with my boyfriend... Who's not here. Damn I miss him.
Someone shoot me now.
What I really want to do is curl up in bed with my boyfriend... Who's not here. Damn I miss him.
Someone shoot me now.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
I Have...
A small rant about something. I was going to tackle the Karla Homolka issue, since I'm fired up about that, and have been for weeks; but I think I've got enough steam to go off of for a while on this issue alone.
It seems today, that I have my panties in a knot regarding a few current events. Usually I'm pretty liberal minded, accepting the oddities of day to day life, without so much as batting an eyelash. I have my opinions, but unless they are uncontrollable, I manage to keep them to myself. These are not controllable opinions, however, and I need to have an outlet. Lucky for me, I have GSD, and a readership that tolerates my occasional lapses in control.
My issue, is this.
The lady in Utah that had GOLDENPALACE.COM tattooed on her forehead for ten thousand United States dollars for her son's education.
Okay. I'm a tattoo enthusiast. I have the utmost respect for individuals that get tattoo work done, mainly because it's expensive, permanant, and usually symbolic of something to that individual, whether it be easily concealed, or no. I have NINE tattoos. All of them mean something extremely meaningful to me, becoming a part of me as an individual. I DID NOT choose to have ink slammed into my skin pell-mell, heedless of the consequences, knowing that by having my entire back covered in permanant markings, I was choosing that for life, or until I decided, (most unlikely) to have them removed. I boned up on this before I decided to rant from several different sources (which is always a wise thing to do) when stating this opinion.
Now, this woman had one inch high, solid black lettering saying the words GOLDENPALACE.COM plastered on the upper center of her forehead, for 10,000 United States dollars? Ten thousand USD?
Wait, wait, wait... Back that gravy train up.
Are you fucking kidding me?
...
No, sadly, this is no joke.
I'd like to say a few things about this woman's decision.
i.) (In my opinion) She is showing serious disrespect to the tattooing community by having something like that written on her forehead without having a personal meaning to it. You sold your forehead space on EBAY for fucks sakes. She "think(s) it's funny". I guarantee you that in a year, you're going to be spending about 50 bucks a week on coverup. And that, darling, isn't so funny. Except for the cosmetics industry, who's going to yuk it up, after she shells out fifteen dollars a pop on the thick layers of coverup that are necessary to slap onto her forehead. I hope you enjoy your family portraits on your Christmas cards.
ii) I refuse to get the name of someone I ADORE tattooed upon my flesh, merely because the likelihood of me no longer being in a relationship with that person could, in fact, occur. No matter HOW much I love them, I wouldn't get their name branded on my flesh willingly. This is just me, and this has been a standing statement of mine since the moment I started getting tattoo work done. What makes you think that this casino company is going to be in business ten years from now? Or even five? How much do you think it's going to cost to have it removed, burned painfully via laser, millimeter by millimeter, when you've upheld your end of the contract you signed to have this hideous thing slammed into your skin?
Yes, yes. I understand, she loves her son. This is a mother's job, to provide for her child. I respect that. A mother's love knows no boundaries. HOWEVER, I think that she went about this entirely the wrong way.
She was quoted as saying,
Sure, you're doing it for your son. HOWEVER, I'd like to ask her how much private school funding she thinks 10,000 bucks is actually going to provide for her child, where tutoring, (even from peers) would also been as beneficial? How many years of private school do she honestly think that 10,000 USD is actually going to buy? She should spend some time HELPING her son with his schoolwork, instead of opting for the easy (easy?) money by renting her dome out on EBay... I mean, come on, public school ISN'T that bad, lady. Hell, I went to public school for my entire education, and I'm no nitwit. Your kid is going to school in Utah, not the school from the movie Dangerous Minds. Though, you might need to grow your bangs out like Ms. Pfeiffer, and dye your hair a dark brown, or black to look minutely presentable.
Yes, that's EXACTLY what it is, you great ninny. L'od almighty. The tattoo artist (Brouse) was brusque, to the point of rudeness; and stern with her while outlining the letters on her head. (I watched the video in abject horror.)
Good grief, Charlie Brown! He and his fellow employees in the parlour spent approximately seven hours trying to convince this woman that having this tattooed on her head was a really fucking BAD idea. Well, no shit. If I was that tattoo artist, I'd tell the woman to get the fuck out of my parlour, and never come back with as ridiculous a request as that. As the tattooist, you have the right to refuse servicing a potential customer. This is where he should have exercised this right. Noteriety or no, it's not a way to make a reputation, if that's what the tattoo parlour was going for.
Yeah, I've carried on to no end about this broad, and I'm absolutely disgusted with her, and the company that seems to think that tattoos, and tattooing their brand on idiotic individuals is an effective advertising technique. Perhaps for exposure, yes, but ethically, I find this repugnant. The entire notion of these people buying advertising space on human flesh (This has been done before, on someone's entire back, by the same company) is getting tired very VERY quickly, not only for me, but for a large portion of the community these guys seem hell bent on offending. Tattooing is not a lark, and I'm livid over the fact that these people seem to think of it as something trivial.
*sighs* I'm sure I'll face some sort of scorn for voicing such a boisterous opinion, and if that's the case, so be it, but honestly, can't people find BETTER things to do with their time, flesh and commitment?
It seems today, that I have my panties in a knot regarding a few current events. Usually I'm pretty liberal minded, accepting the oddities of day to day life, without so much as batting an eyelash. I have my opinions, but unless they are uncontrollable, I manage to keep them to myself. These are not controllable opinions, however, and I need to have an outlet. Lucky for me, I have GSD, and a readership that tolerates my occasional lapses in control.
My issue, is this.The lady in Utah that had GOLDENPALACE.COM tattooed on her forehead for ten thousand United States dollars for her son's education.
Okay. I'm a tattoo enthusiast. I have the utmost respect for individuals that get tattoo work done, mainly because it's expensive, permanant, and usually symbolic of something to that individual, whether it be easily concealed, or no. I have NINE tattoos. All of them mean something extremely meaningful to me, becoming a part of me as an individual. I DID NOT choose to have ink slammed into my skin pell-mell, heedless of the consequences, knowing that by having my entire back covered in permanant markings, I was choosing that for life, or until I decided, (most unlikely) to have them removed. I boned up on this before I decided to rant from several different sources (which is always a wise thing to do) when stating this opinion.
Now, this woman had one inch high, solid black lettering saying the words GOLDENPALACE.COM plastered on the upper center of her forehead, for 10,000 United States dollars? Ten thousand USD?
Wait, wait, wait... Back that gravy train up.
Are you fucking kidding me?
...
No, sadly, this is no joke.
I'd like to say a few things about this woman's decision.
i.) (In my opinion) She is showing serious disrespect to the tattooing community by having something like that written on her forehead without having a personal meaning to it. You sold your forehead space on EBAY for fucks sakes. She "think(s) it's funny". I guarantee you that in a year, you're going to be spending about 50 bucks a week on coverup. And that, darling, isn't so funny. Except for the cosmetics industry, who's going to yuk it up, after she shells out fifteen dollars a pop on the thick layers of coverup that are necessary to slap onto her forehead. I hope you enjoy your family portraits on your Christmas cards.
ii) I refuse to get the name of someone I ADORE tattooed upon my flesh, merely because the likelihood of me no longer being in a relationship with that person could, in fact, occur. No matter HOW much I love them, I wouldn't get their name branded on my flesh willingly. This is just me, and this has been a standing statement of mine since the moment I started getting tattoo work done. What makes you think that this casino company is going to be in business ten years from now? Or even five? How much do you think it's going to cost to have it removed, burned painfully via laser, millimeter by millimeter, when you've upheld your end of the contract you signed to have this hideous thing slammed into your skin?
Yes, yes. I understand, she loves her son. This is a mother's job, to provide for her child. I respect that. A mother's love knows no boundaries. HOWEVER, I think that she went about this entirely the wrong way.
She was quoted as saying,
"To everyone else, it seems like a stupid thing to do. To me, $10,000 is like $1 million. I only live once, and I'm doing it for my son."
Sure, you're doing it for your son. HOWEVER, I'd like to ask her how much private school funding she thinks 10,000 bucks is actually going to provide for her child, where tutoring, (even from peers) would also been as beneficial? How many years of private school do she honestly think that 10,000 USD is actually going to buy? She should spend some time HELPING her son with his schoolwork, instead of opting for the easy (easy?) money by renting her dome out on EBay... I mean, come on, public school ISN'T that bad, lady. Hell, I went to public school for my entire education, and I'm no nitwit. Your kid is going to school in Utah, not the school from the movie Dangerous Minds. Though, you might need to grow your bangs out like Ms. Pfeiffer, and dye your hair a dark brown, or black to look minutely presentable."It feels like someone is taking a pin and just stabbing you with it,"
Yes, that's EXACTLY what it is, you great ninny. L'od almighty. The tattoo artist (Brouse) was brusque, to the point of rudeness; and stern with her while outlining the letters on her head. (I watched the video in abject horror.)
"Will it go numb?" she asked. "It'll go as numb as your brain," Brouse replied. "My brain is already numb," she said, laughing.
Good grief, Charlie Brown! He and his fellow employees in the parlour spent approximately seven hours trying to convince this woman that having this tattooed on her head was a really fucking BAD idea. Well, no shit. If I was that tattoo artist, I'd tell the woman to get the fuck out of my parlour, and never come back with as ridiculous a request as that. As the tattooist, you have the right to refuse servicing a potential customer. This is where he should have exercised this right. Noteriety or no, it's not a way to make a reputation, if that's what the tattoo parlour was going for.Yeah, I've carried on to no end about this broad, and I'm absolutely disgusted with her, and the company that seems to think that tattoos, and tattooing their brand on idiotic individuals is an effective advertising technique. Perhaps for exposure, yes, but ethically, I find this repugnant. The entire notion of these people buying advertising space on human flesh (This has been done before, on someone's entire back, by the same company) is getting tired very VERY quickly, not only for me, but for a large portion of the community these guys seem hell bent on offending. Tattooing is not a lark, and I'm livid over the fact that these people seem to think of it as something trivial.
*sighs* I'm sure I'll face some sort of scorn for voicing such a boisterous opinion, and if that's the case, so be it, but honestly, can't people find BETTER things to do with their time, flesh and commitment?
Monday, July 04, 2005
Okies...
So, my hits counter from Nerds on Site, has finally gone kaput. Shitty deal. I got a new one from bravenet, it's over there on the side, not that it matters to you folks, but I was just under ten thousand hits in six months.
At any rate, I suppose GSD gets a chance to renew itself, so slap the GSD url on anything your heart desires, dear readers.
*kisses*
At any rate, I suppose GSD gets a chance to renew itself, so slap the GSD url on anything your heart desires, dear readers.
*kisses*
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Oh yeah...
The likelihood of him seeing this, or even being sober enough from tonight and tomorrow to actually be able to read straight is slim to none.
That being said;
That being said;
Happy Birthday Devin!!
Saturday, July 02, 2005
Vote For Pedro!
Okay, so I finally got with the times, and rented Napoleon Dynamite. I've so got my priorities backwards regarding technology, where I'm mired in computers day in and day out, and I haven't seen some of the latest new releases until months after they've been out of theatres.Whatever.
I liked this movie. Quite a bit. Why? Well that's another story. Granted, it was full of absolutely stupid humour, but still, it had me laughing. Some scenes I was almost in hysterics, due to the sheer stupidity of the humour, though, I think that was half the brilliance of the film. The characters were... Gad, it's hard to describe. They were watered down. Half of the appeal of the characters was the fact that they were bland in demeanor. That only strengthened the movie, in my opinion. The characters HAD personality by totally lacking it. Maybe it's more that they were acting like the very shy people their characters were, and by doing so, it was fantastically well done. It was slow moving in parts, but still kept your attention. Continuity was there... sorta.
*sighs* It's so hard to explain. I'm sure someone could do it better than I could.
Things happened in the movie that had no bearing on anything else, obscure, pointless, and merely for comedic effect. In particular the "steak" scene had me laughing until my ribs hurt, and the dance segment had me grinning like an idiot. I enjoyed the slow, gentle smile that Pedro had, and the contrast of the confidence that he displayed in his actions and the bland-ness of his character. Both at the same time. I enjoyed the shy, sweet spirit that Deb's character had, and I know that was exactly the way I was in highschool. Remember, I never had the personality I have today, when I was 16.
I think the best way to describe it is that you have to imagine living in a middle American small town, (unless you already do.) and that you have to sympathize with geeks. Complete and utter nerds. Obviously, I do. Hence why I liked it. You have to like Kitsch, because this movie is loaded with it. There were parts where I was expecting something a little more adult oriented to happen, but that's just my dirty mind not expecting a relatively clean movie. You have to be willing to just relax and zone out on a movie and not over analyze it to death.
I'd recommend it, but if you can't handle stupid humour... I dunno man. Maybe not.
Either way, it's developed a huge cult following, and maybe it's worth seeing what all the fuss is about. At least then you can understand what the hell some of your co-workers are talking about during the day.
Chess, Anyone?
I don't know what it is, but I love the composition of this shot. Perhaps it's the temporary feeling of the chessboard that rolls up, or the gentle invitation written on the board, but the entire time I was around this guy at the Art Gallery, he was smiling. Who wouldn't want to play chess with a guy that always had a welcoming smile on his face?
Chess, Anyone?
Chess, Anyone?Wandering feet... (Photo Blog entry)
Music Of the Moment: Beck -- Lost Cause from the album: "Sea Change"and The DAM radio Podcast for Friday July 1st, 2005.
I was supposed to go take some photographs of my old business partner today for some of her shenanigans. Unfortunately, things fell through, and I was left downtown at eleven in the morning on a Saturday, mildly grumpy, with an itchy shutter finger and nothing to shoot at.
Well, there's always an opportunity to remedy that situation.
So begins: Linds goes to Chinatown.
I've got this addiction to Chinatown for some reason, finding the brick walls and the colour red so predominant throughout the entire area, the subtle and not so subtle decorations on everything from the light posts to the gigantic gate that vehicles pass under to enter into that part of Vancouver. I suppose it's the same thing that makes me love Gastown so much, even though some parts of it are an absolute hole. (In ways, I find that dive aspect of Gastown appealing as well.)
Entry Gate to Chinatown
Catching the number 19, camera, powerbook and iPod blasting some Scissor Sisters in my ears, I decided to get off in Chinatown and snap some pictures of local businesses and accoutrement, as well as strolling through the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Gardens which always leaves me feeling peaceful and appreciative of the natural and sculpted beauty within the whitewashed walls in the heart of Chinatown.
Pagoda in the center of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Gardens
Pathway at the Gardens
Bamboo... Obviously. Jeebus.
The scents of the markets are redolent with spices, the tang of foreign fruits, and reek of dried fish. Some days I can't walk past stuff like that, since I've got a fairly strong sense of smell. There are people EVERYWHERE, and you have no idea how hard it is to get a clear shot of stuff without waiting three minutes for all the people to get the hell out of the way. Hey, I was TRYING to be patient. Really, I was. The colours alone blew me away.
Food, Glorious food.
I was supposed to go take some photographs of my old business partner today for some of her shenanigans. Unfortunately, things fell through, and I was left downtown at eleven in the morning on a Saturday, mildly grumpy, with an itchy shutter finger and nothing to shoot at.
Well, there's always an opportunity to remedy that situation.
So begins: Linds goes to Chinatown.
I've got this addiction to Chinatown for some reason, finding the brick walls and the colour red so predominant throughout the entire area, the subtle and not so subtle decorations on everything from the light posts to the gigantic gate that vehicles pass under to enter into that part of Vancouver. I suppose it's the same thing that makes me love Gastown so much, even though some parts of it are an absolute hole. (In ways, I find that dive aspect of Gastown appealing as well.)
Entry Gate to Chinatown
Pagoda in the center of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Gardens
Pathway at the Gardens
Bamboo... Obviously. Jeebus.
Food, Glorious food.
Yes, Those are Lizard Lollies. YUM! Nutritious crucified lizards! (and my iPod headphone cord. whoops)
Ah well, I got my photographical fixin's. And some lizards for snacking on. (I'm joking. Ew.) However, I bet they're nice and chewy inside with crispy skin. Just like KFC. Everything's supposed to taste like chicken, right? These were the ones I thought were the best out of the 60 pics or so I took, on my hour long stroll through Chinatown. A glimpse through my eyes, at a part of the city I live in.
Ciao for now, I'm going to go whack around an offensive green tennis ball against the clay.
Ciao for now, I'm going to go whack around an offensive green tennis ball against the clay.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Holy Christ on a cracker!!
Rick Mercer has a blog!I *heart* Rick Mercer. I've had this stupid girly me, digging smart, East Coast Canadian men that are funny as fuck crush on him for YEARS! It's my upbringing, and East Coast Canadians have a very unique sense of humour, which is by far my favourite next to British humour. I heart Rick Mercer equally as much as I heart Jon Stewart from The Daily Show. Both deliciously, wicked humoured souls.
That and I dig brunettes. LOTS. (Hey, it's me, don't expect me to not be a little bit naughty.)
For those of you that don't know who Rick Mercer is, he's been the front man on 'This Hour Has 22 Minutes', 'Made In Canada', 'Talking To Americans' and 'Monday Report', all of which are Canadian political satire television programmes that I grew up watching with my dad. I'm sure if I watched television now, instead of immersing myself in homework, I would STILL be laughing at them. "This Hour..." is one of the only T.V. shows I'll allow myself the luxury of watching anymore.
He's a cynical bastard, with a dry sense of wit and great delivery, that ALWAYS has me laughing. Great at deadpan, and also smirking when he delivers a sharp line towards the conservative party in Canada. (Sorry Mayor, my darling, you may love me for my fantastic rack, and witty repartee, but my liberal roots are showing.) From what I've read, since his blog is quite recent; he writes much the same way he performs. And that, darling chilluns' makes me a happy, happy girl. I hope he keeps it up.
Very, very cool.
Consider him linked!!
*special thanks to Shatnerian, who unknowingly informed me of this coolness... Coolness? Jeeeesus, what am I? 16?*
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