halloween: the perfect drug

with its backdrop filled with gothic imagery (victorian mansion, walking cane, vulture, weimaraner dog, vitrola, topiary mazes), nine inch nails’ the perfect drug is my favourite halloween video.

scratch that. the perfect drug rocks any day of the year. stylistically, one of my favourite music videos. ever.



reznor plays a grief stricken father mourning his dead son. looking like he never leaves the grounds of his gothic estate, reznor, in a downward spiral, intently drowns his sorrow in a glass goblet of bright green absinthe. the interplay of blue and green lighting is effective in that you feel the despair as he loses himself in the abyss of the absinthe and also feel the rage, frustration and desperation as he tears through the labyrinth of high hedge walls or splashes and sinks in the murky gazebo pool.



the video premiered as i was finishing fashion design school. a good chunk of my illustrations for my portfolio were heavily influenced by the look of the video. i love costumes design; my favourite eras being renaissance and victorian/edwardian. i'd even watch a perhaps questionable movie just for its costumes alone. a costume designer i admire to no end is colleen atwood of sweeney todd, sleepy hallow, gattaca and lemony snicket fame. eiko ishioka of bram stoker's dracula is another one. costume/fashion design is my rock star dreams and regrettably, i didn't find work in that vocation. but i digress.

costume designer terry king did a bang up job with the xviii century horse riding jackets and boots, ‘staches, cravats, black feather fans and shag coats. the shrouded harbingers of death with the veiled hats would put the hats of the kentucky derby to shame.



the set dec with the plush velvet curtains and brocade wallpaper couldn’t be more fitting for the time with gustav klimt's the kiss on the wall just popping to the forefront when watching the video. utterly exquisite. visionary director mark romanek had also directed nin’s closer, johnny cash’s hurt, madonna’s rain and lenny kravitz's are you gonna go my way music videos.

both clothing and artistic direction were heavily influenced by author and illustrator edward gorey’s the gashleycrumb tinies, an alphabetized catalog of 26 children tragically meeting their deaths. morbid, much? then again, this goes hand in hand with the 'memento mori' feeling of the victorian age.

watching, i am also reminded of edgar allen poe’s work such as the raven or fall of the house of usher and the old vincent price and roger corman movies. the spot-on neo-victorian atmosphere and imagery conveyed is what makes the perfect drug video a masterpiece.



happy halloween.

halloween v: primal scream

"all the world is mad, save for you and me, and sometimes thou art a little freaked".

i've always remembered that quote growing up because it pretty much sums up my greatest fear: madness. me going completely off the rails or everyone else around me gone insane. it's the removal from reality that is my nightmare.

speaking cinematically, it wasn't the jasons or michaels or freddys that would terrify me to no end. rather, it was movies in the vein of the invasion of the body snatchers, dawn of the dead/night of the living dead/land of the dead to name but a few.

when i was little, i used to get freaked out about zombie movies. why do i find them so irrationally scary? well, the idea of the pitiless and relentless nature of zombies and the fact that they are devoid of any intellect, emotion or mercy. what's terrifying is facing off with these zombies in their monstrous, unreachable state and the fear of a similar outcome for us, as we doom ourselves by barricading or trapping ourselves in some place from which there is no escape. it's bad enough to be chased by a killer from any slasher movie, but a horde of zombies coming after you like a pack of animals? how do you even begin to escape the multitude of them? and the only chance you'd have to survive is to act as barbarically as they do. because the alternative if caught and turned by them is becoming trapped in some shadowy borderline existence, neither alive nor dead.

as for the alien pod people, it's the terrifying thought of living in a world of imposters. is it a delusion or is it real? questioning the world around you as these identical doubles exhibits normal behaviour but you somehow knowing that they are not actually the people you know and love. and it's always those people that are closest to you too. (spouses, parents, siblings, friends) the resulting alarm would propel anyone into psychotic behaviour.

another fear or paranoia that would probably signal the end of the world for me? take your pick of any twilight zone episode. the classic rod serling series were amazing because they were based on psychological terror and paranoia. who can forget these heebie jeebies episodes:

01. the hitchhiker - a mysterious hitch-hiker keeps appearing on the road as a woman drives across the country.
02. little girl lost - a little girl crawls through an interdimensional doorway that has appeared in her room.
03. person or persons unknown - a man wakes up in bed to find that his life has been erased.
04. nightmare at 20,000 feet - a man recovering from a nervous breakdown sees a creature on the wing of the airplane he's on.

the twilight zone redux from the 80s were not as good, obviously, but there was one episode, need to know, that resonated for me:

Edward Sayers is a government scientist/agent sent to a small town to help investigate a bizarre outbreak of insanity which is spreading through the town. With the help of a local woman, Amanda Strickland, he methodically goes through the town trying to find an answer.

He eventually discovers that the source of the problem is not a physical disease, but an idea, a single short phrase, that is being passed from person to person by word of mouth. That horrible phrase is nothing more or less than the purpose and meaning of existence, which was somehow discovered by a local resident ,Jeffrey Potts, during his travels abroad.

While Sayers is ultimately unable to stop the man from going to the local radio station and telling the entire town the secret, he is able to reach Amanda in time to smash her radio. Only then does she have a chance to point out that she has already had two visitors stop by, and that she has something very important to tell him. She whispers it into his ear.

the common thread running through these movies/shows? the fight to preserve one's sanity. the urgent need and the inability to be able to communicate something of importance with another person. it's the frightening thought of not being able to save someone or yourself from losing touch with what's real. it's the nightmare of being in a straight jacket, confined to a padded room. and it's the fear of being completely alone, in every sense.

it's not to say i'd run the other way when a zombie/pod person movie comes out. i'm an adult for pete's sake. in fact, i've watched 28 days/weeks later (scary), i am legend (boring), the invasion (horrible). i even watched shaun of the dead. (loved it!)

but just in case, i've made my best friends pinky swear that if i ever landed in a mental asylum, to bust me the heck out of there, guns blazing. for surely, it's got to be a conspiracy because i don't belong there.

with frenetic beats and crazy visuals, here's the terrorizing halloween video # 5, miss lucifer, by the awesomeness that is bobby gillespie and his band, primal scream.

Primal Scream - Miss Lucifer

way to go. my 100th blog entry and it coincides with me writing about madness. woot.

halloween iv: the gothfather

what is halloween music without the mention of the most obvious choice? that would be of course bauhaus' bela legosi is dead.

a foreboding song in its own right, with a spooky-ish 7 minute video to boot. but would i call it a favourite? no.

i'm a peter murphy fan post bauhaus. i was instantly taken with peter murphy's deep, rich vocals and haunting, poetic ballads from solo efforts, deep and holy smoke. tall, gaunt with cheekbones that can cut glass, he is absolutely mesmerizing to watch in concert. (and no, he did not make his entrance a la bauhaus style of being carted out in a coffin or dressed in a cape) by no means conventionally beautiful, peter murphy possesses a commanding presence and along with that vocal prowess, sucks you in. and as if in a trance, you're powerless to fight. the man and his songs are hypnotic.



my favourite song is hands down, cuts you up. i'm completely bowled over by the musical arrangement in this song, especially that of the bow guitar. there's something about peter murphy running through the woods in the video that just makes me think of solitude, loneliness and romantic longing.

a couple of years later, i would feel a sense of video deja vu when i watched the movie, tale of a vampire, starring julian sands running through the woods in search of and to protect his paramour.

love julian sands. he's another one of those anomalies, whereby you wonder why he isn't a ginormous household name. sands is an actor with a penchant for dark unconventional films. his body of work includes boxing helena, where he plays a doctor so obsessed with a injured woman that he kidnaps her and proceeds to amputate her limb by limb, gothic, a fictionalized account of what may have happened on a stormy, drug induced night between lord byron, percy shelley and mary godwin (who later penned frankenstein) and playing the uncle in henry james' the turn of the screw, an unnerving and sinister ghost story. who knew his career would take such a sharp turn off the map from his early role in period piece, a room with a view?



in tale of a vampire, julian sands mourns his lover who vanished a century before. he meets a woman who bears a striking resemblance to his lost love and is drawn to her. and it's not until the end of the movie is he made aware of the reason why she was brought into his life by a villainous hunter.



tale of a vampire is based on a poem by edgar allen poe called annabel lee, written in honour of poe's wife who died of consumption, leaving him grief-stricken.

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea:
But we loved with a love that was more than love -
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her high-born kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me -
Yes! that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud one night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we -
Of many far wiser than we -
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling -my darling -my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea -
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
-edgar allen poe

so maybe not macabre like the typical boos, slasher/splatter and torture porn normally associated with october 31 revelries for today's blog, but i see halloween as not only the obvious ghosties and ghoulies but also, like an unseen riptide underneath calm waters, the unshakeable feeling of being chilled-to-the-bone haunted.

halloween III: she is the new thing

a few of my co-workers had colds during the last few weeks. i polled them, asking if they were a "leave me the 'eff alone" sick person or a "i want my mommy" sick person. not only will i give them massive lee-way and not get in their cross-hairs, but my distancing myself is also two-fold. i don't want to catch a cold.

but alas...

i find myself at the start of a cold, i think. one nostril is stuffed yet not runny. there's a niggle in my throat but not a cough or clearing of the throat needed. slight general malaise but not bad enough to punch in my sick day card.

i even went to yoga after work for a boost. and throughout the 1 1/2 hour class, i felt much better. but as soon as class was done, the icky started to set in again. ah, just a temporary solution.

so, how am i when i'm sick? i am neither bitchy, needy nor whiny; rather, i get like pop losing its carbonation. no fizz. resigned would be more than appropriate a word. detached, another one. and i must say, i mope gloriously; nay, spectacularly.

i may sound a tad over-dramatic when i say that i feel like i must look like norma desmond descending her staircase at the end of sunset boulevard, face all glazed and eyes akimbo. either that or i look and feel like edward munsch's the scream.

also, i do get more impatient, especially at the most stupid things that may not be anyone's fault.

like on my way home, dropped by the pharmacy since i ran out of vitamin c last week (which i think is partly the reason why my immune system became more susceptible) there were many different brands of vitamin c and the one that i wanted to take a look at was not only on the highest shelf, but also since it was on sale, the one bottle left on that shelf was all the way back to the wall. even with my vertiginous heels on, there's no way on this sweet earth that i could ever reach the wall. ugh.

i duck footed it to the pharmacist and asked for someone not vertically challenged as i was to kindly fetch it for me. not one to bark at people, that didn't stop me from thinking how stupid they are to not re-stock the shelves or even move the one product forward to the edge for accessibility. don't they know that vitamin c to a sick person is like manna from heaven?

turns out i didn't buy that particular brand anyways. it had sucralose in it. and yes, i read labels, even when i am sick.

anyways, back to the sick me. the sick me would trump the neat freak me and let the clothes fall where they may. no picksy-upsy for me when i'm under the weather. also, i have a tendency to throw things (say, empty juice boxes or empty vitamin bottles). across the room. and binky. need my pink baby blanket to cocoon myself around whilst "switching off" and catching up on true blood or dexter online and not do any thinking. and thank goodness for hot showers. so. very. therapeutic. and such a saving grace.

unfortunately, the cloud above my head prevented me from going out tonight to catch lykee li and the friendly fires play a gig downtown. suppose it's a wise move in the long run. besides, the sold out club, the saccharine sweet lykke li and the up-tempo electronica of the fires may just push me over the edge, of which i'm sure i'd be sorry for tomorrow morning, when i stumble into work.

instead, i'll listen to my helloween pick #3 from uk band, the horrors.

i witnessed the horrors play at the luna lounge in brooklyn. their reputation of performing an incomparable and unforgettable gig preceded them. on the strength of one song, i checked them out, curious to see the band who christened themselves with names such as faris rotter, tomethy furse, joshua third, spider webb and coffin joe. the band with its emphasis on visual flair looks like a dandified ramones, the cramps or the gruesomes (the band, not the characters from the flintstones cartoons) - equal parts stylish, freakish and witty.

described as horror punk/shockabilly, the horrors' with their hammond-like organ tinged songs sounds a bit familiar, like you can't quite put your finger on where exactly you've heard it before. the music have a bit of borderline camp and 60s retro feel to it but at the same time, the horrors carved out a musical niche not filled out by any other band at that time. the horrors also look like they could've been raised by the munsters, the adams family or leaped from the pages of an edward gorey drawing. plus they all possess the most skinniest, spindliest legs in stove pipe trousers that i've seen in a long time.

so here's the creepy but catchy, she is the new thing.



cuz that's exactly how i feel tonight.

halloween II: neverending white lights

canadian producer, writer and musician daniel victor is the mastermind behind the neverending white lights, a music collaboration project featuring guest vocalists such as dallas green of city and colour, raine maida of our lady peace and nick hexum of 311. nwl's songs and accompanying videos are gothic inspired, beautifully shot, melancholic, dark and romantic-a combination that always certainly stops me dead in my tracks. love it.

nwl's first album is called act I: goodbye friends of the heavenly bodies and spawned a series of 3 connecting videos. the video trilogy has daniel victor in the role of a victorian man on the quest for an angel's love.


the grace


angels and saints


age of consent (yes, the new order song. and yes, i love this remake)

the second album is called act 2: the blood and the life eternal.

"Where its predecessor brimmed with the notions of death, spirituality and angels, Act II was poised to play to the opposite end of the spectrum. I had initially intended on focusing this album’s concept on the idea of ghosts and spirits, but as I began the writing process and research, peculiar things began to happen. I encountered a number of ghastly dreams and often awoke to visions of entities that weren’t actually there. Many times these ghosts simply vanished from the room after striking eye contact with me. In between these events, I beheld continuous unexplained and blatant noises, witnessed equipment in the studio curiously malfunctioning, and lost a number of tracks on tape, which seemingly disappeared with no plausible account. Perhaps in all my research and writing I was attracting spirits. Unenthused about being haunted, I dropped the concept and began devising new ideas. Immediately, it came to me: the subject matter of a ceaseless existence, everlasting life, the undead and its symbolism through our life flow in its purest form, blood. In my mad ramblings on the topic, I penned nearly sixty songs, about thirty of which went on into production, and fifteen of which were chosen for the final album. This is what became Act II: The Blood And The Life Eternal."
-daniel victor

here's halloween pick #2: from act 2, the purr-fectly mysterious and darkly arresting video, the world is darker starring guest vocalist ex-hole's melissa auf der maur.



nwl. beautiful. imaginative. brilliant. and canadian too.

sliced away

an important write-up on how the global financial downturn is affecting non-profit organizations in vancouver.
vancouver courier

countdown to halloween

halloween used to be my favourite holiday growing up. by the time i was 16ish, i had watched pretty much all the horror movies out there. the not-to-be-toyed-with ones too: the omen, the exorcist, the shining, rosemary's baby, invasion of the body snatchers, to name but a few. looking back, it's no wonder that i grew up a bit neurotic when it comes to things that go bump in the night.

each year, i'd rent a stack of movies, decorate my space with all the halloween accoutrements, invite friends over and scare ourselves silly watching the classics, while munching on candy, chocolates and popcorn.

'tis halloween week. and what better way than to amp myself for this coming friday than with a selection of my favourite halloween themed videos.

so, every day until halloween, my get me "in the mood" songs.

to start with: one of my favourite bands, echo and the bunnymen. throw in a blast from the past vampire movie i grew up with, the lost boys; kiefer sutherland being so perfectly cast as ringleader vampire, david. splice in excerpts from echo and the bunnymen's lips like sugar and seven seas music videos and what do you have? you got an awesome remake of the doors' "people are strange."

in search of the mark

it was one of those very long but highly enjoyable days yesterday. orbis pictus exhibit at science world, followed by creativity at work staff retreat, followed by my bi-weekly archery meet up.

i'm still shooting by instinct and i'm getting better, in that less of my arrows are shooting wayward. there are a few, but not as many as previous meets. however, i've set a goal for myself starting tonight. i want to be able to shoot all 3 of my arrows to hit the yellow bulls-eye at the same round. and if that bar is too high for right now, i'll settle for all 3 arrows to be in the yellow and red circles. for now.

another goal i have is wanting to hit smack dab in the middle of the bulls-eye, which is marked by a plus sign. i came close tonight and at the very respectable distance of 15m, the second furthest point away from the target. (the furthest point is at 18m)

since it's halloween week, there was a contest to shoot as many pumpkin targets in order to win the chocolate prize. i didn't care about the prize so much as wanting to shoot my arrow in the eye of the pumpkin. came close, but no dice.


top left: i want that epi-centre
top right: beside the eye, but not in the eye
bottom left: ready, steady, aim
bottom right: target's perspective with our white arrow holders at 18m away


that streak that looks like an orangey line is my arrow after i released it. you can see the tension of my bow springing back in place too. a very cool shot indeed. thanks david.

hello inner child

"ever played a water organ? a keyboard that has aluminum rods instead of strings? a metallic sphere?"

i haven't been on a fieldtrip since i can't remember when. but after the strategic meeting at work this morning, my colleagues and i went over to science world to take in "orbis pictus: the gate to the world of creative human imagination". designed by czech visual artist petr nikl, orbis pictus develops imagination by means of interactive instrumental objects and has its first north american premiere in vancouver.


pictures from orbis pictus website

the exhibition looks like a mad scientist's laboratory. this circus of sound, with its instruments of light, sound and music was especially designed to challenge you to rethink your perception of the way things ought to be done.



my favourite piece of the exhibit is the "labyrinth of the heart." the unmistakeable white inflated heart-shaped tent houses a music assembly consisting of three octave bubbling water organ with its flue pipes immersed in water. while playing said organ, objects such as starfish, seahorses, colorful feathers and animal jaws floating on rafts of cork flow around the maze while the egg-shaped light globe lights up, casting fanciful shadows inside of the tent. it reminds me of children's shadow lamps with images of leaves, animals, what have you, projected by the light to create intricate patterns on bedroom walls. i could've stayed in the heart for hours.



first premiering in paris in 2006, then prague and italy, the exhibition is inspired by czech humanist john amos comenius, the author of "the labyrinth of the world and the paradise of the the heart."

"The subject matter of Comenius’ Labyrinth is simple: a young man, Pilgrim, walks through the world to understand and find “human things” before deciding on how to arrange his further life. He is accompanied by two guides – Beeneverywhere and Illusion. Along his journey Pilgrim begins to feel as if he were immersed in a labyrinth in which it is absolutely impossible to grasp the true nature of things and events. The dubious wisdom of Beeneverywhere and the rose-colored glasses of Illusion prevent him from understanding what is going on inside and around him and thus to make the right decisions. Thanks to his relentless effort and wit, Pilgrim manages several times to put the glasses aside a bit and see the true nature of things."
-excerpt from orbis pictus

the interactive orbis pictus develops the message of comenius and all those who believe in the force of creative will for knowledge; all hidden behind the sense of play.



having warmed up our creative juices, we all convened after the exhibition to go into an art-based workshop called creativity at work. this profession development 3 hour workshop was illuminating. the workshop emphasized on the importance to think like a cubist; looking at the world in a different perspective.

for example, the inspiration for the look of the ufo in close encounters of the third kind originated from a creatively blocked spielberg who drove up to the hollywood hills one night and performed a handstand, thus viewing the skyline upside down.

we explored how to apply thinking strategies of geniuses, such as f. scott fitzgerald, who said:

"the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."

the workshop was not all about being lectured to. the facilitator had our staff partner up in teams of 2 and with paint, brushes and paper in hand, we went several rounds, having silent conversations in painting. each person would wait until the other was finished painting, and then it would be their turn to "talk", contributing to the abstract painting. what was surprising through the painting process was how it revealed how harmonious of a work relationship you may have with that colleague. and through the painting it also revealed how flexible and open people are about their ideas.



our last painting exercise had us work individually and do a few strokes on what our ideal work environment would look like. then we all had to get up and go to our neighbour's painting and add on to that painting without disrespecting that person's vision. and after several rounds, we went back to our own painting to see how our vision was enhanced or not. i was happily surprised at the contributions of my colleagues and what grew out of the couple strokes i had painted.


i titled my ideal work environment picture: no hard edges

it felt like play time in elementary school all over again.

one surprising and scientifically proven fact learned is that creativity is inherent in everyone. did you know that 98% of children at the age of 5 are naturally creative? by the time children reach the age of 10, that percentage takes a sharp decline to 30%. at the age of 15, it's at 12%. by the time we reach adulthood, only a dismal 2% of us remain creative. shocking. this study done by george land proves that non-creative behaviour is learned.

also, whereas the average adult thinks of 3-6 alternatives for any given situation, an average child thinks of 60? or how about the fact that taking time to do nothing allows for creativity to flow? children who are allowed to daydream develop a high IQ.

it's sad to think that as we get older, we don't necessarily get wiser, at least not in the creative sense. we lose sight of remaining open, communicative and experimental. we as adults view failure as the end all be all, when it should in fact, fuel us to thinking up other innovative perspectives and try and try again. the workshop reminded us of the importance of not pushing play, imagination and creativity into the background, because without them, there can be no such thing as risk-taking, independent thinking or innovation.

all that glitters

one bonus about being in the arts industry is the opportunity to attend other arts organizations' special events. oh, and i should mention gratis to boot. i've been fortunate enough to get comp tickets and invitations to the ballet, modern dance and plays.

tonight found me at a fancy schmancy annual dinner & gala for the arts club theatre in vancouver. they were celebrating 45 years of success, honouring three local legends and they were doing it up right. i was expecting a proper, genteel and well behaved crowd with polite smiles, polite nods and polite clapping at the appropriate places during speeches. no way. not this crowd. not "there's no business like show business" theatre people at their own ballyhooed red carpet event.

my friend greg and i arrived at the venue and walked up the stairs to the ballroom. what greeted us before we even got to the check-in tables were a scrum of journalists (actors dressed up as reporters a la cary grant and his girl friday's rosalind russell style), vintage camera bulbs flashing, bombarding us with questions like, "who are you wearing?" at ricochet speed. it was our own little paparazzi attack. nice touch.

oh yes, this was not going to be your ordinary, run of the mill gala...

typical: passed hors d'oeuvres on silver trays, open bar plying patrons with wine, silent auction, live auction, 3 course dinner, musical entertainment and honouree presentations.

not typical (and thank goodness for that): the table greg and i were sitting at. half the table was newspaper folks and the other half were some of the arts club folks. talk about larger than life personalities. loud, boisterous, friendly and damn welcoming. rowdy laughter and rollicking conversation accompanying warm goat cheese salad with toasted hazelnuts and champagne dressing, roasted spiced duck with confit leg and potato croquette, raspberry and beet puree, saute of chantrelle mushrooms in spiced jus (or in my case, mushroom risotto) and a trio of desserts comprised of chocolate caramel bar, stilton cheesecake and poached pear soda makes for a dynamite combination. i didn't even have to "turn it on", i was having so much fun.

those being honored included actress janet wright, performer leon bibb and playwright morris panych. the presentations on stage were equally bawdy and hilariously acidic, dropping f-bombs along with choked tears of appreciation and thanks. at times, it felt like we were witnessing a roast right in front of us. honorees taking jabs, bordering on TKOs at the artistic managing director lovingly. lots of warmth and camaraderie, especially at the area where we sat, where everyone was a lovely tint of boozy.

we perused the tables of silent auction prizes and sat through the live auction with prizes of 2 floor tickets to madonna, a weekend up in whistler with porsche rental, a chartered boat for 8 with catering and wine during the summer fireworks and a 7 day cruise. or you can try your chances at winning 40 bottles of wine for a raffle ticket of just $20.

but i cared not about the auction items. it paled in comparison to the company kept tonight. a lot of smiles, a bunch of chuckles and a whole whack of getting to know you betters -THAT was the glittering and stellar prize. and like winning a prize, made all the more sweeter when you're least expecting it.

welcome to the 21C, now step into my office

i tried on contact lenses for the first time in my life today. yes, at a time when folks are taking the next step of getting laser eye surgery from the bane of wearing glasses, here i come, sitting my buttinski down in front of a lighted close up mirror, trying to figure how to put these little clear cupshape discs onto my eyeballs. yes, i'm definitely keeping up with the times.

last week i finally had my eyes checked. my last exam and the last time i purchased my current glasses was an embarrassing 7 years ago. but to my credit, my vision did not degenerate as much as i thought it did. in fact, my opthomologist said that i didn't even need to get new glasses if i didn't want it, the change to my vision so miniscule. since i'm near-sighted, i'm a part time eyeglasses wearer, donning specs only when i have to drive or watch a movie.

and the option of me going for laser surgery? a waste of money for me, i'm told, as my eyesight is not bad to warrant the money, unless i have a job requiring 20/20 vision.

but i've been toying with the idea of contacts for a long while now. colour me vain, but a night out on the town for work or otherwise and dressed to the nines does not make me want to have glasses as my main accessory. sometimes, the librarian look above the neck clashes with the little black dress below.

so here i sat, having one of the eye technicians talk me through the whole rigamarole of the completely unnatural act of sticking things into your eyes. how did i fare? not too badly. it didn't take me nearly as much time as some people. (must be all the eye-liner practicing)

the good news? my vision acuity is low at -125. not so good news? i have mild astigmatism at -225, which i found out today means a different kinda contacts. i tried on soft contacts but they're toric contacts, which means they're thicker and they're weighted, which explains why i could feel them on my eyes. especially when i look left and right. how unusual this feeling. it almost put me off contacts completely. but my doctor assured me that it gets better, it just feels odd my first time out.

astigmatism is a funny thing to try to explain to someone who doesn't have it. even when i found out i had it years ago, i didn't truly know what it was. well, today with these contacts on, i found out. for me, it's the floor not laying flat. crossing the room, the floor looks slightly bendy; mole-hilly in some places and pot-holey in others. mind you, very minimally but enough to disconcert me.

i experienced this when i got my glasses years ago, but i thought what i was seeing and feeling was maybe a result of an internal balance problem or something. i always felt a bit loopy when that happens, like i'm in some sort of wonderland funhouse with the slopey checkered floors. but nope, doc says that's the astigmatism i'm experiencing; my brain adjusting to what i'm seeing through the lens. yup, makes for fun trying to trust your senses.

doc said i'm lucky though. some astigmatics see what i see plus see doors, door frames, doorways and corridors leaning at a crooked angle. who needs hallucinogens when you have astigmatism?

so after learning how to take these little suckers out, my doctor sent me on my way with the contacts, solution and instructions this week to practice, practice, practice, wearing them a couple of hours at a time and building it up until 4-6 by next week's follow up visit.

and so it begins. we'll see what wins out: my vanity of wanting to go spec-less sometimes vs not wanting to be bothered with the equivalent feeling of an eyelash in both eyes (but not nearly as annoying) nor waiting for that darn tooting astigmatism to get itself sorted out with this new means.

blink blink.

favourites #2 - delays wanted

one of my FAVOURITE britpop band is southampton's very own delays. LOVE delays. if i had their records (instead of cds), i'm sure the grooves of the record would be well worn as i listen to them all the time. all the time. everyone that i've introduced to delays wind up really liking the band as well.



i've been a fan since the first cd and all subsequent releases have only gotten better. delays are a band that make you scratch your head, pondering on the preposterous notion of why this band is not super huge as they should be. seriously under-rated. but then again, it just makes them that much yours. like a best kept secret. one of my favourite songs (ever) that makes me weak at the knees and sporting a beatific grin would have to be you and me and love made visible.





delays are synth pop personified and a guaranteed pick me up. with their romantic lyrics laden, feel good songs, i defy anyone who listens to them not to walk away happier, giving into the urge to grand jeté or pas de bourrée while walking down the street. at the very least, i betcha you'll walk away bopping your head from side to side, shaking those fringe bangs and with a wiggle to boot. i also have a weakness for raspy voiced singers and can listen to singer greg gilbert for delays. i mean, days.



so i see on my myspace that delays will be playing 2 shows in new york tomorrow and thursday. only 2 north american dates and then back to uk?! and they come after i've up and left the city?! i'm suddenly jealous of all my friends in new york who are able to see them live.

balls.

where's my head at?

yay!

it's been 10 years since i quit smoking!

6 weeks ago....

my 10 year anniversary of being butt-free was september 9.

it just hit me yesterday night when i looked at my calendar and i realized i COMPLETELY missed it. by a long shot.

such an monumental milestone too. and one that i would've been happy to do high kicks for. with pom-poms.

how did that happen? was it some mental blockage? or a black out phenomenon i'm not aware of?

or is my brain right now liken to a shot glass and i'm pouring in a pitchers worth of information to process and retain that past couple of months. obviously then, other things would spill over or get displaced.

good lord, i suddenly feel like the man in a relationship who missed a special date that has left the girlfriend fuming. now i'm wondering if i've missed any other special birthdates, anniversaries, special occasions... *scratch head*

well, this is just a purr-fect example of why some of my exes have jokingly called me "miss absent-minded."

anyways, yay for me. i think i should belatedly celebrate by treating myself with a little gift to make up for the big fact that i forgot such a coup.

the perfect fix

it's amazing to me what one and a half hour of yoga can do to ones perspective on life. i've been practicing power yoga now for over 10 years and since moving back last september, i try to go at least twice a week. unfortunately, i soon learned that's not entirely do-able when one is working full time and going to night school part time. sometimes, it just isn't realistic with looming work deadlines and school exams.

i find that when i go without for more than a couple of weeks, my mood and outlook becomes affected big time. what is that saying? "i love humanity; it's people i can't stand." how very true for me sometimes. things start to grate on my nerves, which invariably end up frazzled. the most miniscule and inconsequential thing happen and all of all sudden, you're suppressing the urge to want to shove someone. across the room.

before i come off sounding like a raging sociopath, it's more the "reactionary" that i try to reign in when faced with the inconsiderateness, insensitivity, carelessness, downright rudeness and invasion of personal space that we're all assaulted with on a daily basis. it's the everyday pressure slowly being piled up around us, until we're neck deep in it. and it's the challenge of maintaining a positive attitude while things go to pot around you. and what do most of us do? we grit our teeth and smile through it.

i read the newspapers everyday and i feel my optimism getting chipped away, as i read headlines and bylines of the injustices and unfairness that exists in our world. even an agate's worth of write up can get me on the near verge of tears and feelings of helplessness. and the whole while, i have to compartmentalize my feelings in order to get on with the day.

and when it all comes to a head, when i realize that all the externals are affecting my attitude and when i find my tolerance for people severely tested, i know that i have to remove myself and find focus again. my spirit literally cries out to be centred again.

thank goodness for yoga. besides putting on my earphones and tuning everyone and everything out for a few hours, on a particularly bad day, yoga is the only other thing that could get me right again. it's definitely not as anti-social than me with my ipod, the equivalent of a shut door with a sign that says, "leave me the 'eff alone" or rather, "dont' call us, we'll call you." music and yoga: my two sanity savers.

to be in a room where you are reminded of the importance of breathing, while you move through the asanas and concentrate on stilling the chatter in your mind, is such a gift. by the end of class, i always feel like my faith in man is restored. i feel more connected to everyone around me and i'm a much better person because of it.

i remember when i first moved to new york and started to make friends, i said to one person that i thought new york was a wonderful place to be, what with so many different cultures there. imagine how much you can learn and experience from each other! his response to my rose-tinted point of view? the alternative that living in such an environment can makes you realize just how much you hate (certain types of) people. mind you, this was coming from someone, who flash forward 30 years, would be the curmudgeon on the porch with shotgun in hand, yelling at the neighbourhood kids to stop ringing his bell and get off his property.

other friends would tell me to give it 2 years of living in new york, and i'd become jaded as well. well, you know what? i was there for 2 years, went through all the ups and downs and walked away still me. i did not become the hardened cynic or misanthrope, because it's not who i am to begin with. who i am is that sickeningly optimistic, glass half full kind of girl. and when i do teeter on the precipice of being unkind, i know i have to give myself an attitude adjustment. i refuse to lose my humanity.

no matter how much we would like to fix and make things better on a grand scale, i know that it begins with the self. if i make it a point to love myself first and take care of me, then not only will i feel peaceful, i can without effort, radiate that compassion and grace outwards to those around me. and like others showing me the simplest kindness or touching me with their smiles when i'm having a difficult day, it's my hope that i can spread love and feelings of brotherhood, paying it forward and affecting others in positive ways.

and even though this is a model of strength in numbers, it's still cyclical. to work, each one of us has to keep at it, reinforcing that moment of connectedness. but isn't the benefits of that which you'd reap from doing just this, the very solution to our own happiness?

so art doesn't matter, eh?

would you vote for a prime minister who doesn't give a frick about funding of the arts that facilitates creativity, individuality and livelihood of millions of canadians? would you want a prime minister to cut arts and culture funding by $45 million, calling the arts elitist?

elitist, huh? just how many millionaire elite artists are there out there in canada?

*cue crickets chirping and owls woot-hooting*

the average canadian artist lives below the poverty line and often take on a part time/full time job as their bread and butter so that they can create art.

here's the hurl-worthy "niche issue" comment that sparked the culture war:

Under fire for his government's $45 million in cuts to arts and culture funding, the Conservative leader yesterday said average Canadians have no sympathy for "rich" artists who gather at galas to whine about their grants.

"I think when ordinary working people come home, turn on the TV and see a gala of a bunch of people at, you know, a rich gala all subsidized by taxpayers claiming their subsidies aren't high enough, when they know those subsidies have actually gone up – I'm not sure that's something that resonates with ordinary people."

the reality is that these galas are in fact fundraisers. to raise money. oh, and i find it particularly hilarious that the pm's wife is the honorary chair of the national arts centre gala. course, after her husband put his foot in his mouth, she had to cancel her plans to attend the annual fall gala.

the arts in canada generate as much economic activity and employment as all our natural resource industries combined. (forestry, mining, agriculture) it contributes something like, $40 billion each year to the economy. how out of touch can harper be?

it's almost incredulous to hear such a viewpoint from a "leader" and offensive to the people who not only appreciates the arts, but also those who work in the arts and culture sectors across canada, particularly in the metropolis' of toronto, montreal and vancouver. where would we be without film, plays, musicals, operas, symphonies, ballets, art galleries, museums, books? it's the arts that defines a country.

the prolific canadian author margaret atwood sums it up superbly in her commentary to the globe and mail newspaper.

it's especially ironic that i just attended a breakfast seminar last week where american author richard florida was championing for the rise of the creative class and what that would mean for the wealth of nations. maybe someone should forward a copy of florida's book to harper.

so stephen "culture killer" harper has gotten re-elected for another four years. yay for us.

return of the vamp

this past month, i've been feeling like i'm 18 all over again. because just as i finished high school, i started working part time in a bookshop and being quite the bibliophile, i found myself diving into the world of anne rice's the vampire chronicles. (wasn't reading anne rice like a rite of passage?)

i was already enamoured with vampires since i turned 13, but it wasn't until interview with the vampire, did i think anne rice changed the landscape of vampire fiction. course after queen of the damned, her books went downhill for me and i couldn't quite get over the feeling that she was "calling it in" especially with violin, pandora, vittorio etc. the movie versions of interview and queen were also stomach cringing. really? tom cruise as lestat? puh-leeze. not buying what you're selling. stuart townsend fared better as rock n' roll lestat visually, but the queen movie bordered on camp.

the thanksgiving weekend holiday that just passed, had me mostly working on my take home final exam for media relations. and when i finished, i rewarded myself with devouring the book twilight by stephanie meyer in 2 sittings. i'm just about to start reading the followup, new moon. i'm looking SO very forward to the twilight movie being released on november 21. so much hype and high expectations that the latest harry potter movie has been delayed to avoid competition. crossing my fingers that the movie will live up to the expectations.



i've also caught up on all 6 episodes so far of hbo's true blood online and boy, am i hooked. if you haven't watched yet, do. it's sexy, it's steamy (pushing the boundaries of tv, that's for sure), intriguing, at times wickedly funny and served up with a wallop of backwater louisiana attitude. and the fact that the show takes place among the rednecks of present-day louisiana? funnily enough, it works. also, thumbs up on perfectly casting stephen moyer as the tortured vampire. not since buffy the vampire slayer and angel have i been so excited about a vampire tv show.

check out true blood. click on watch to preview episodes.

so, i say yes to more blood noir!



the vamp has come back in a big way. perhaps being the month of all hallows eve, vampires are coming out of the woodwork, or should i say, rising out of their coffins? it tis the season. no matter, i'll happily bare my neck.

while everyone goes straight, i deviate

i've been looking forward to archery all week. i hadn't gone now for about a month and that made all the difference.

tonight, i found myself shooting mostly by instinct, rather than using the push pin sight. the other archers remarked how when i shot by instinct, especially at the further distances, my bows would quiver up and down in the air like a javelin, rather than fly by straight. i suppose perhaps, that's akin to throwing a curve ball or throwing a football with a spin. and they never seen anyone in class do that before. how i did it, i don't know.

of course, the further you move away from the target, the higher you must aim, in order to take into account trajectory. and by feel, how i increased the angle of the trajectory was not just to raise my bow, but by also dropping my right shoulder a touch, while aiming the bow higher.

perhaps this is how one of my bows flew upwards in a swooping arc and then dropped down in such a sharp downward angle, that it tore into the target sheet. and because i was the last one in my group to shoot, everyone saw the path my arrow took and heard the sound of my arrow tearing into the paper. it was pretty awesome and we all ooh'ed and ahhh'ed and had a laugh. for this is probably a one in a million crack shot, i'm sure.



we closed the night with going 3 rounds, aiming for small turkey targets. (canadian thanksgiving being on monday and all) the top score would win a special prize. much harder than shooting a regular target, i only scored a three pointer. but that was enough to get me second place. the winner? a long time archer with his own professional compound bow, scoring 9 points. the prize? a big a** butternut squash! (it being thanksgiving on monday and all) hilarious. and fun.




i'm on my way to becoming a toxophilite.

tag! you're it!

my friend jai tagged me on her blog, trublisschic yesterday. not to be confused with a bucket list of "the big ticket items" one wants to accomplish, and in no particularly order, here are the 30-ish things i want to do before my 30-ish birthday. (and no, i'm not going to reveal here and now how old i really am)

let's re-visit this list in 4 months to see how much i did cross-off.

01. read the twilight series quadrilogy

02. finish the half dozen books that i have laying around the house half-read

03. go to the symphony

04. check out the dolphins at the aquarium

05. see an exhibit at vancouver art gallery

06. walk a marathon

07. volunteer at a hospital

08. indulge in a facial/mani/pedi

09. learn a new language off my rosetta series

10. get re-certified for first-aid/crp again (it's been years)

11. confidently and professionally work and network a room

12. coordinate bi-weekly girls together

13. take dance lessons (ballroom? tango? swing?)

14. buy that canon slr that i've been thinking about for the longest time

15. take a photography class

16. learn to juggle

17. work on getting that flat stomch

18. get back into snowboarding

19. pare down/recycle/donate the boxes of stuff in my storage unit

20. play in the snow with my niece

21. figure out how to soduku

22. get my stiletto heels re-soled

23. indulge in tea, scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam on sundays

24. spend a whole sunday watching back to back classic hollywood movies

25. spend a whole sunday watching back to back super-heroes movies

26. spend a whole sunday watching back to back thx/dolby heavy/surround sound action movies

27. spend a saturday catching up on reading nothing but magazines

28. frequent a neighbourhood eatery enough to become a regular

29. spend an afternoon at my neighbourhood cafe drinking hot chocolate and reading a book

30. work on my travel scrapbooks (i'm soooo behind)

lightning does strike twice

the folks at nowpublic.com sent me an email on flickr today: (email shortened for effect and privacy)

"At NowPublic members work together to cover news events around the world. News here is crowd powered, that means it starts with people just like you who witness events or see stuff online they think others should read. One of our contributors would like to share your photographs in a story.

NowPublic is running a news story on Tokujin Yoshioka new chairs and we’re trying to put together a collection of photos of his work. If you're interested in sharing your photo, please follow the links below. Looking forward to seeing your work on the site!"

i'm sure it's not a big deal to most everybody, but for me, i find it kinda cool that the pictures i do take may be of interest to some websites. and especially flattered when i am seeked out for said photos. i'm always more than happy (when asked) to have my pictures contributing to any arts, travel and culture-related newsworthy stories.

nowpublic.com first approached me this past august to use 4 of my radiohead concert pictures. and i thought THAT was cool. and a one off. but now to be asked a second time. awesome!

so, check out my photo from my san francisco trip for the tokujin yoshioka story, venus natural crystal chair: furniture that grows on nowpublic.

also, check out www.tokujin.com for more brilliant-ness.

two published pictures in one week! so very encouraging!

when one door closes...

another one opens.

wowzers, 2 blogs in one night. i can't resist though.

indulge me, my music lovin' self.

my favourite radio station is bbc 6 (you got to dig those english accents) and my favourite program is natasha's weekend breakfast. or was. for almost 2 years, every saturday and sunday morning, i tuned in faithfully (or rather because of the time difference, i'd listen to the show again on the bbc iplayer; as often as i want, whenever i want) tash was a riot and the woman never failed to make me laugh aloud. she was flippin' entertaining, raucaus and no holds barred rowdy. and after 4 years with bbc 6, she's quit to pursue other opportunities. weekends will never be the same.

her replacement, iyare, hosted his first breakfast show just this weekend. he's got some mighty big shoes to fill. already, you can tell he's finding his way, trying to make things his own and trying to bond with the regular listeners. and as the music producer, mick, is still there, the music format of the show shouldn't change radically. that is, fingers crossed. remaining open and giving the new guy a chance, i'm pretty certain that it'll still be a while before i get over tash withdrawals.

however, on a brighter note, bbc 6 is introducing some new programs for our listening pleasure this week. new york's huey morgan of fun lovin' criminals "scooby snacks" fame has joined the dj roster. interesting choice.

but the one that's got me excited is dance anthems with dave pearce, which started tonight. dave pearce comes to 6 by way of bbc radio 1, which i never listened to as its format is mostly top 40 music, with a demographic listenership between the ages of 15-29. dave's show features 30 years of classic house/dance music anthems i loved, back in the days when i was a legend in my own mind. listening to this show definitely gives me flashbacks of those nights of dancing until dawn. his show targets all us 30+ year old ex-ravers. and since the 2 hour show is on every sundays, there's not too big a chance to o'd on house music. a once a week hit is just purr-fect.

the playlist from tonight's premiere show includes some of my favourite songs that i haven't heard in eons:

01. paul van dyk - for an angel
02. opus III - it's a fine day
03. bbe - 7 days and one week
04. chicane - salt water
05. robert miles - children
06. underworld - 2 months off

a new song by ferry corsten was also played tonight: radio crash. gotta say, this song has a pretty wicked heartbeat sound to it. another new one that i'm digging is simon hunt's the burn.

okay, after tonight's premiere, i'm convinced. dave pearce is now added to my weekly listens. other radio 6 recommendations: claire mcdonnell, nemone and liz kershaw. and george lamb. he has got to be the hottest dj ever. seriously hilarious too. complete aural mayhem.



whenever i'm in that classic soul and funk, motown and northern soul mood, you can't do better than the craig charles funk and soul show. and to mix it up, i mosey on over to bbc 2 for jonathan ross, mark radcliffe & stuart maconie and steve lamacq.

sidebar: when absolute radio finishes awkwardly transitioning in their attempt to re-brand themselves, now that they're no longer virgin radio, they'll have me back as a listener.

all i can say is thank goodness for globalism. thank goodness for the world wide web. and thank goodness for digital radio. hallelujah.

a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

public speaking is a fear shared by many people, myself included. my heart would start pounding and i'd have to remind myself to breathe in/out deeply, even as i wait for my turn to stand in front of 27 of my peers in media relations class and role-play a scenario. the dread is very palpable, as you imagine all eyes on you or worse yet, that no one is paying any attention.

yesterday, an assignment was sprung on us all, with only 10 minutes given to everyone to prep. how horrifying is that? me and another classmate would pretend we were reporters who'd bombard another classmate who'd role-play as a media spokesperson, in a surprise interview on the street. my partner was given the aggressive and in your face reporter archetype, while i was given the role of the reporter who didn't know anything about the spokesperson's charity and ask questions that either didn't add up or were not penetrating enough. the spokesperson would not know what questions we were going to ask nor what type of reporter she'd have to contend with. yup, we had the easier roles.

for today, my teacher said everyone would reverse roles, so i was the media spokesperson who would be interviewed and the setting would take place at a radio station. but because she gave us a heads up that she'd give us more practice at today's class, i had researched everything i could on the canadian breast cancer foundation website and their annual event, cibc's run for the cure.

my thought that i wouldn't be able to role-play as the spokesperson in front of my class? completely unfounded, i was surprised to find. because i came prepared and armed with background information, i did better than i thought i would. and there were no pre-jitters; no heart palpitations, no dry mouth, nor flip floppin' stomach. with no idea of what i would be asked or how, i was able to answer all the questions lobbed at me, and in a manner that didn't come off robotic or nervous-sounding.

after the 5 minute mock interview, the teacher would give us our evaluation in front of the class and tell us what our strengths are and what we'd have to work on. besides sounding credible, mature and confident, my teacher said that i have a sophisticated way of speaking. that, i would've never guessed about myself in a million years, even though the teacher told us that we often don't see in ourselves what other people see in us.

and what do i have to watch out for? there was a couple of times, i up-talked, which meant that my tone of voice was raised at the end of my sentences. this could make your statements come close to sounding like a question. but at least, i didn't have the problems of the ummms, you knows, wells, hmmms, tongue-clickings or microphone poppings.

so what made the difference? was it because i was informed? or perhaps that we got to role-play sitting down at a desk and chairs, instead of standing, exposed and without any props or crutches? or was it because this time it was not a surprise? how about narrowing my field of vision to maintaining eye contact with my classmate reporter only while zoning everyone else out? was it because i convinced myself, at that moment, not to care a stitch about the people out there and their thoughts about me? am i more brazen if i go about thinking i'm speaking in a room full of strangers whom i would never see again?

where did the assuredness come from? i'm not sure, but i'm curious to find out. yes, i'm scared but at the same time i want to get out of my comfort zone. i want to get rid of this self-consciousness. as part of my public relations program, i'll be taking a whole course on public speaking next year.

at the very least, it's a lesson in psychology. neither extrovert nor introvert, i can be both sociable and reserved. i've been told i have a disposition that puts strangers at ease and i can draw the shyest person out in conversation, yet i don't seek the spotlight, preferring to stay behind the scenes. i will join the sing-a-long with friends during a car roadtrip, but you'll never see me making for the stage, grabbing the mike and singing with friends at karaoke. i'm perplexed at the quandary i find myself in. a bundle of contradictions, no doubt.

i thoroughly admire anyone who can get up on stage, be it performing or giving a speech. i always thought that i would not have the nerve to be up there, in front of hundreds, nay, thousands. scary thing, this stage fright. the thought of putting yourself on display for scrutiny could make even the most confident person wish the floor would just swallow them whole.



and if i needed to be up on stage, i thought that i would only be comfortable if i was not going to be up there by myself. power in numbers, i always thought. easier not to call the attention on you, when others can be a focal point. therefore, i would have no problems on stage, if i was part of, say, an ensemble acting troupe or a member of a 4 piece band.

but i want to change that. i want to tread into unchartered waters. then maybe, one day, i can be that solo performer.

i know which side i belong to

my media relations class is tres interesting. not only am i learning alot in terms of the art of handling media inquiries vis a vis in person, radio, print or electronic means, but i find i'm playing devil's advocate in class as well. i don't mean to, but i end up asking plenty of questions coming from the perspective of the reporter. i'm thinking on the other side of the fence and i didn't know how to stop coming from that angle. the last time i piped up, i thought for sure my teacher was annoyed to no end.

anyhoo, we got paired up for an in-class exercise and my classmate got the role of the media relations person and i was the inquiring reporter. the teacher was circulating around class and stopping to hover at each group to listen in on our interviews. when she came past me, she listened for a few seconds and then passed, but not before squeezing my shoulder as she walked by.

i'm in a load of crap, i thought.

after class, i stayed back to ask her a question on an upcoming assignment. before i could even ask, she told me that she thought my role-playing of a reporter was fantastic and that she could tell that i had a journalistic instinct. phew! i had thought she was going to remind me that i'm in a media relations course, not a journalism one, but she was very supportive.

i left class feeling like i've been "seen" and it felt pretty darn good. it's a strange feeling to wonder or question the talents/traits you think you may or may not possess or not knowing if you're doing something right or wrong. so to be recognized by a professional, mentor or anyone who you hold a high opinion of, is such a great compliment.

by nature, i'm inquisitive. i like putting the puzzle pieces together. i'm a truth-seeker. i love who-dunits and grew up reading detective sherlock holmes, agatha christie and those 3 minute mystery novels. when i was in high school and you're asked what you want to study in post-secondary, i entertained the notion of being a lawyer; a criminal lawyer, actually. (amongst loads of other aspirations)

i don't doubt that i could be a defense lawyer, but i know myself in that it may be skills that would have to learned and put into practice everyday in order to be great. my personality may have to be tempered to do such a vocation.

it's like right brain/left brain thinking, one naturally leans more to one side than the other. but the intriguing challenge is if you can see and master both sides of that dividing line, you would be personality ambidextrous.

and that's how i feel about this class. it's so helpful to get insight about the other side. like two sides to a coin, you can't have the media without the media relations person and vice versa. the class is definitely an eye-opener to me because not only does it incorporates public speaking skills, but it'll help to hone my skills being on the receiving end of a microphone, when it's intrinsic to me to be the one always asking who, what, where, how, when, why, why and why?

my photo got published!

on september 16, out of the blue, i got an email on my flicker account: (email have been shortened for effect and privacy)

Hi Lingling,

I am writing to let you know that one of your photos has been short-listed for inclusion in the fifth edition of our Schmap London Guide, to be published mid-October 2008.

While we offer no payment for publication, many photographers are pleased to submit their photos, as Schmap Guides give their work recognition and wide exposure, and are free of charge to readers.

i okay'd their selection and thought nothing of it, thinking there's no way i'd make the cut. (it's an honour just to be nominated). but tonight after a long day and a longer week, i got this email on my flickr:

Hi Lingling,

I am delighted to let you know that your submitted photo has been selected for inclusion in the newly released fifth edition of our Schmap London Guide: Carnaby Street

Thanks so much for letting us include your photo - please enjoy the guide!

how 'effin rad is that?!

i'm ESPECIALLY thu-rilled because the picture schmap chose, from my recent london trip, was one i took of my favourite shopping area of london, carnaby street. carnaby, the birthplace of 60s mod, where fashionistas wore mary quant's designs and where bands such as the beatles, the small faces and the rolling stones played at the nearby marquee club.

today, carnaby is home to my favourites: ben sherman, merc, fred perry, lambretta, liberty, all saints and many other shops. to have my picture included in THIS category is beyond WOW! and even though i'm one of the two dozen pictures included in the carnaby category, i'm still smiling ear to ear.

here's the schmap link:

http://www.schmap.com/london/shopping_stores/

to find me, look under stores and arcades, then click on carnaby street. on the right hand side, click through the pictures until you see *lingling*. then clickety click. that's me!

i also got a link to how my picture would show up if anyone looked up schmap on their iphone! (good lord, does schmap even know that i'm a apple/mac fanatic?!)

schmap's carnaby iphone link

and lastly, i got a widget with my published photo to put on my blog!



so flippin' cool! i've just been schmap'ed! and i like it.

monkey men

after a sold out run at the manchester international festival, spoleta festival in south carolina and royal opera house in london's covent garden, monkey: journey to the west has found a new home at the o2 arena in greenwich, london. from november 8 to december 5, the opera will be performed at monkey's world in the meridian gardens, a specially designed theatre right next to the o2.



the men behind the monkey, damon albarn and jamie hewlett, are currently working on their third gorillaz album. but the good news is, due to their wildy successful opera, they're being approached by interested parties to perhaps think up another large-scale production.

now that just begs the question: when will i get to see monkey?