Glad to Be Home

I will be putting pretty things up from my road trip around Ontario (as well as yummy things up on my food blog from the same trip) soon, but wanted to share first the sight for sore and tired eyes that met us on our return: welcome home gifts from Maja, who had been watching our place for us.

Happy Gladiolas nodding gladly (more Maja poetry), and beeswax soap and candle made by Maja and her father from her father's rooftop apiary in Chicago. What a sweetheart.

More Fun Mail

What a lucky mail week! Look at the pretty and exciting thing I got TODAY:



The answer is YES we are coming to beautiful Antigonish, NS, for your wedding, JP and Kathy! Off to mail my response card now. :)

Present in the Mail from Mousse

I don't think there is possibly anything better than getting an unexpected present in the mail. Mousse sent me one of the maps she bought in Iceland that is part of a series of 115. Half of them are mostly water so we were talking about doing map prints of fish we've eaten on them (like this one on the right).

I got lucky #18:


(Sorry, the photos are a little dark, I was eager to post.)



A blank canvas of my favourite ocean. What should I put in it?



Below is the beautiful card that came in the package, from egg press in Portland. I love the texture on the paper that letterpressing makes.



P.S. Mousse, keep your eye out for the postman too, there should be something coming in the mail for you any day now, though it may not have my name on it. :)

Old Taïpeh

These are amazing. Photographs of Old Taipei with French captions. I love how Taipei is spelt, "Taïpeh". A New Zealander friend who I met through teaching English in Taiwan discovered these and posted the link on facebook. Thanks, Noel.



Courtesy of Thomas H. Hahn:

Scans of all 55 plates of Ogawa Kazumasa's outstanding (and now very rare) publication Souvenirs de Formose et des Îles Pescadores (Ogawa, Tokyo 1896).

The sites and scenes depicted here follow roughly the main western transportation artery of Taiwan (Formosa) at the end of the 19th century, i.e., from Taipei in the north towards Kaohsiung in the south via Jiayi and Tainan. Of great interest are the images related to the Pescadore Islands (Penghu 澎湖), and those photographs documenting a foreign (Spanish, British, French) presence on or historical involvement with the island."

For a decent map of Taiwan dated to exactly 1896, see the Map of Taiwan [Formosa] 1896 From the Scottish Geographical Magazine. Published by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and edited by James Geikie and W.A. Taylor. Volume XII, 1896.

Thomas H. Hahn
Ithaca, NY

Istanbul

These pictures of Istanbul just got posted on facebook. I am going in September. I can't wait!

A Corner of My Workspace

I bought a new camera today - Canon Powershot Elph SD1200 in Hot Pink (the last colour they had, which suited me just fine!). I tested it out by taking a couple shots around the house. Thought you might like to see a corner of my workspace in my study where I do most of my work/procrastination. A selection of random books here, not all to do with my thesis, a jar of (dying) wildflowers that I picked from the park across the street a few days ago to inspire me (yes, there are wild roses in my park, lucky me!), and a red stapler in tribute to Office Space.

"A Nice Piece"!

A little break from procrastinating to celebrate some hard work. I handed in the first half of my major paper for my MA degree (which I am hoping to make into a PhD thesis) and my advisor wrote back saying this:

"I enjoyed reading your paper. This is a nice piece of work."

YAY!!! Elation! He liked it!

Big B

A Cup of Jo is having this Giveaway from Albeit Jewellery and I am hoping to win the necklace below with the Big B.



I am writing a thesis on Heidegger, who writes about Being with a Big B. (Yes, scholars actually say, "The big B Being" in order to differentiate it in speech from little b beings. This confused the heck out of me when the director of our undergraduate program started doing this in lecture at my first encounter with Heidegger. He kept getting flustered from keeping them straight. I was just in first year, so I thought he was talking about honey bees. ).

This year, a couple of my fellow grad students have taken to calling my boyfriend Brian, "Big B" as I have this theory that he is a closet Heideggerian (his ideas about God are totally unorthodox and it is obvious he is describing the big B Being!). He also found a Boston Bruins hat with a red B on it, which he cut out and sewed to the back pocket of a pair of his favourite jeans.

A Big B would be so delightful to wear for these reasons. Plus, just think of the pretty pattern it makes when turned sideways! A little hanging bump-dee-bump!

Isn't my Mom a Cutie?

My Mom is visiting me in St. Catharines this week. She is posing in the community garden across the street from my house. She's wearing the cutest full-body romper though you can't tell because she has my pink hoodie and a white jacket on on top.

B and I go walking in this gorgeous park all the time. B brings his binoculars and we go stalking the beavers, silverfish, turtles, pheasants, rabbits, cats, cat birds, hawks, woodpeckers, cardinals, and beautiful wildflowers that live here. It's the bestest place ever and I am going to miss it.

More Old Man Style...

The Sartorialist

P.S. The Sartorialist book is out.

Eat Local.

Hellmann’s - It’s Time for Real from CRUSH on Vimeo.

Always Good Advice

Yee Haw!

OMG this so makes me want to make horseradish vodka...

* ~ *

I stumbled upon YeeHaw Letterpress on etsy. I LOOOOOVE their Farmer's Market series:

Have Heart, Will Travel

I was going to just let this be and get on to finishing my exam marking, but I simply can NOT get over these guys...


Heart and Guts visit Japan.


Lung and Uterus visit Hollywood.


Heart and Guts stop at a diner for some un-heart healthy carrot cake.


Heart and Guts pick out MedicAlert bracelets.


Organs posing with an electric organ.

i Heart Guts is available to do non-profit work for medical causes involving their adorable organ plush toys. They even have a plush pancreas from their work with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. I am in complete AWE.

via Seesaw Designs

The Uncarved Block

You know I am getting productive when I start seeing whatever I am writing about IN THE THINGS I AM PROCRASTINATING ABOUT.

(That's as good as it gets in my world!)

White Box from makoto yabuki on Vimeo.

The uncarved block in the Daodejing represents the ruler who rules by 'doing nothing', essentially, by letting his ministers do what they do best and not interfering. He is like the empty space in the centre-point of a wheel where the spokes meet, or the uncarved block, which is functionless. Because it is not carved down to meet a specific need, it remains endlessly responsive and necessary to the 'carved vessels' around it.

While being 'nameless' and invisible, the uncarved block rules the kingdom by providing the space for citizens and ministers to do what they are naturally inclined to - all the natural order needs to be harmonious is this space.

Taken out of the political sense, it is the Dao that provides space to beings in letting them be. Given this space, all creatures flourish in their own unique ways by doing what is natural and spontaneous to them (i.e. fish swim, deer run, children play, ...and colours dance! Well, naturally! ;)

via Share Some Candy

The Secret Agent - Philip Glass

Well, this is only half procrastination - writing this post is total procrastination but the contents I'm hoping will help me focus on writing.



I was listening to CBC Radio yesterday evening while making dinner and C'est La Vie had a rebroadcast of a piece they did on Philip Glass, specifically, Montreal virtuoso violinist, Angele Dubeau's 2008 album, Philip Glass, Portrait, where she recorded selections from Glass' most dramatic pieces with her all-female string orchestra, La Pieta.

A blurb from the review:

As Glass explains in the September 1999 issue of Le Monde de la musique, “We came out of experimental theatre rather than a traditional education imparted by learned professors: our roots were John Cage, Merce Cunningham, the Living Theatre, Grotowsky and Genet. The idea of a different kind of time, one with flexible duration, came more from Beckett than from Indian raga.” Moreover, by choosing to treat sound as neutrally as possible, Glass conveyed a desire to abandon reason altogether. By letting themselves be guided primarily by sensations, listeners better perceive the relative flexibility of time and the shimmer of the melodic units, which combine and divide as they seem to build, inducing a meditative state, doorway to a chaotic world that lacks any point of reference or apparent logic, yet nevertheless seems perfectly natural.

Listen to the track samples here. My favourites are The Secret Agent and Echorus.

I also downloaded Music in Twelve Parts and Book of Longing (Leonard Cohen and Philip Glass) from Torrent for more studying and relaxing pleasure.

Guinea Pig Chowdown

Mousse helped my procrastination along by introducing me to guinea pigs on youtube...


watermelon chowdown.


fishsnack tug o' war.


cucumber tussle.


community dinner night.
(I want to freeze frame at 16 and 24sec for a family chowdown portrait.)

Thanks youtube!

BIKES!

The etsy blog has a new post on bike-related items for sale! My favourites below.







This one is transformable into a cute waistpouch!

Red Lips

I love RED RED lipstick and she wears it so well.


via The Sartorialist.

The Art of the Everyday

How about this for storing your jewellery? I picture it on the wall hung as a piece of art.


find this at jcrabbit

Seeing this on etsy reminded me of a post from seesaw designs last month:

before:


after:


Frames that turn ordinary objects into art. Isn't it brilliant?

Raccoon Love Handles

I am still absent from here but thought I would post a little tidbit of excitement...

Last night Maja and I were drinking wine on the balcony around 10 or 11 and we saw SIX(!!!) raccoons prowling around in the front yard!!!!

A car went by and they all scampered halfway up the tree trunk, ALL SIX OF THEM, and froze there like teacup handles hanging off the bark (poetic image courtesy of Maja).

It was freaking hilarious.

Once they felt it was safe, they disappeared in the direction of the garbage shed. This is how I envision they ended up at the end of the night...



Happy Feasting Raccoons!
Work up those love handles for cuddling on cool summer nights. :)

Chicken and Old Cutlery

Two of my favourite things.











Kari Herer Photography

Thought Print

I know, I know! I'm not supposed to be on here. It was an accident, honest! Besides, morning coffee time doesn't count.



I stumbled upon this beautiful print by tuttistudio from Tel Aviv on Etsy. She draws in archival inks and watercolour. Isn't it gorgeous?

Mousse in Reykjavik

I am making a concerted effort to be productive for the next few days so I am offering up Mousse's incredible series of posts on her Icelandic food tour from our shared blog, The Mousse and The Pamplemousse, in my place. She will be posting even more from her trip in the next few days so keep checking.



This definitely moves Iceland to the #1 spot on my travel wish list. I am totally jealous and look forward to having my own travel stories to post again soon (I will be in Europe come September until March!!!).

Home sweETSY Home

These girls are too cute! Check out two etsy-ites showing off their shared home that is furnished floor to ceiling with love, pieced together through awesome vintage finds and handmade pieces.



Visit Francesca a.k.a. The Snail and the Cyclops and Alice a.k.a. Forestbound

via Storque, the etsy blog


Seeing this house tour on Etsy made me nostalgic about my old undergraduate apartment that I shared with my dear friend, Eva, also for three years, just like the roomies in this post. I have never had the opportunity again to build a nest quite like my old Halifax apartment. Sharing it with someone with such complementary taste and who became my best friend during that time was really special; it is a time I will never forget. I remember the first few weeks in that apartment when we were still eating dinner off a cardboard box and Eva got really depressed about how bare our place was. Over the years it grew and grew with love, thrift and sidewalk finds, and acquired art.

Since graduating I have been jumping non-stop from one place to the next and have not had a chance to truly settle into a place again since. I am looking forward to experiencing that long-lost nesting magic come September 2010, when I (hopefully) start a PhD program in Philosophy and will be in one place for at least four years. It will be so nice to finally rest my feet.

I decided to get these pictures of our old place off my junky Toshiba before the motherboard dies and show them off. Enjoy the tour!



For a more leisurely tour, go straight to the picasa album

Comments!!!

Oh my goodness! I only just noticed that I HAVE been getting comments all along, I just didn't turn the comment notification on (that should really be automatic, blogger!). OK, also have allowed anonymous comments so you don't need to be a blogger or gmail user (that still means nice comments only!!!). So comment away! I love comments!!!

I Heart NY

Have I told you how New York is my new favourite city? This post from A Cup of Jo...


...reminded me of two things that have brought me immense joy lately.

1. My recent trip to visit Mousse in NYC:



Remind you of a character in the video? We also saw a personality in this pipe... who knows what creatures lurk in the dark sewers of the city.



(Do you see the alligator?)

A tiny bit more flavour of NYC:







(P.S. one of my favourite photo subjects is graffiti art... you'll have to bug me for the rest of our graf photos from NYC. You can also check out an archived collection from my time in Taiwan: graf from Taipei.)

2. The second thing Joanna's post reminds me of is an incredible music art piece I found via CBC radio one fine day, and B and I have been obsessed with playing since. Here is an interview introducing the work that includes some sound samples:
Charles Spearin - The Happiness Project


Listen to tracks from The Happiness Project album. The artist responsible is Charles Spearin from Do Make Say Think and Broken Social Scene. Spearin interviewed his neighbours on the subject of happiness, then digitally mapped their voices into music scores and asked professional musicians to record the pieces. Read more on his website.