Be Scrappy!

Just today, I decided on this as my new motto, in commemoration of what I've learned during my year in New Brunswick, and in preparation for 4-7 years of grad student poverty starting this Fall. (Yes, that's right! I got accepted! Yay me!)

[...]
me: I thought our whole summer would be non-stop wedding!

Brian: no

can't afford that!

14:59 me: haha!

eat our fill at wedding buffets and fast inbetween haha

be scrappy!

that is my new motto.

Brian: be scrappy?

me: yeah

Brian: feisty?

me: no...

15:00 Brian: fight?

live modestly?

me: resourceful, tough, non-materialistic, adjective for scrapper (source: dictionary of pam)

15:01 stretch any scrap of resource to its fullest extent!

for success and for enjoyment!

fight off bears fight off nay-sayers, fight off mean old scholars!!!

I think that is what describes New Brunswickers

Scrappy!

Always having gotten by on little

15:04 and still knowing how to milk fun out of every moment

Tough, cultured and resourceful!

Brian: that's a good attitude

!!!!

me: You're scrappy too!

(It's a great compliment)

Brian: You're scrappy

15:05 You're scrappy too!

me: Scrappers survive apocalypses

Thanks!

15:06 Brian: We'll survive the apocalypse together!

Here's an old black and white cartoon from the 1930's about Scrappy the adventuresome kid. I love how much heart and spunk he has! I think he represents my inner scrapper.

Good Karma Playing

Hey, what are you listening to?

I've got good karma playing, baby.

Stereomood ...music radio suited to your mood or activity of the moment. I dig it.

Current song on now: FINALLY MOVING, by Pretty Lights, from Taking Up Your Precious Time.

Adele

I usually don't pay attention to pop music, so I was late to loving Adele, who is truly something else. Her 2011 release, 21, is not so much your standard commercialized pop, but pop music in the true sense -- a popularly accessible vocalization on a well-worn human subject, in this case, heartbreak. She draws from soul, gospel, blues, R&B, pop, disco, and a large amount of diva(!), to sometimes thunderous, sometimes aching results. 21 is a jumping, jiving soulful hit from beginning to end -- nothing misses the mark! And it is just the thing to get your spirit moving and your mojo grooving.

Wonder Stranger

The prettiest video...

Food and colours and wonder in the kitchen. Kinda fits aesthetically with my new Sophie Dahl cooking show obsession.



by Chicago-based artist Via Tania

Let England Shake

I am listening to PJ Harvey's newly released, Let England Shake, an album that unsettlingly juxtaposes cheery bouncy music with dark commentary on the subject of the Great War and the experience of England as a people pushing through this darkness. Its title track begins with the words, "The West asleep, let England shake, weighted down by the silent dead, I fear our blood won't rise again. England's dancing days are done."



Here's an excellent review of the album which speaks to its historical theme of England in WWI.



Another favourite:

Parting the White Sea

Tucked up in my igloo loft during the 5th or so snowstorm in a month and a half, I am looking at cool vids of snowstorms on youtube. Found this particularly beautiful one, which at first glance looks like some sort of ship cresting white caps across the ocean. It's actually a train plowing its way across snow-buried tracks. What looks like a shack on the side of the tracks is actually a parked caboose on the track next to the train (I think).

Yo Baby, Got A No No?

I was cooking last night and ran downstairs absentmindedly to get shrimp from the freezer - I was wearing wool slippers. On bare hardwood. THWACK. My feet swooshed right out from under me and I bumped awkwardly down a couple steps. My tailbone was safe but I had a big bump on the fleshy part of my bum. Rubbing my smart, I complained to B, "My bum hurts!"

This cheekily reminded him of a line from this spoken word piece from the beat poet (punk poet?) Steven Jesse Bernstein, who was a contemporary and friend of William S. Burroughs. I can't stop playing it. I love his gritty, growly voice with its Jewish American nasal and the big band music in the background.

No No Man Part 1:


No No Man Part 2:

I saw Moncton's sweetheart last night

I saw Moncton's sweetheart last night (now Sackville's sweetheart living here with her 3 kids). I was born in Ottawa, far away from New Brunswick. I was in private school in Singapore when I missed out on Eric's Trip. During Shotgun and Jaybird I was in Halifax, going through a disenchantment with the indie scene- my mind was on other things. I did see her once, backing a solo Gord Downie at a festival in Ontario, but that was different.

I hadn't yet fallen in love with a boy from Riverview who had exchanged letters with her for a time as a teenager. I hadn't been warned off highways about moose. I hadn't tasted Pet de soeur or been buried by 4 snowstorms in a row in a month. I wasn't learning to be a New Brunswicker then.

I saw Moncton's sweetheart last night, Julie Doiron. I was in a curling club, double-fisting Moose Reds, standing by the speaker in a square room with low ceilings, poor sound and chatty undergrads.

She's still underappreciated, twenty years on. But she's still the sweetheart of New Brunswick indie rock. And I loved her. I was smitten.

So I bought a CD.



Julie Doiron
Woke Myself Up

I woke myself up to rest my weary head
from all the work I'd done in those dreams I had
like weeding the garden all night
It's so hard to weed in the Dark moonlight

Almost each night between two and four
she rolls out of bed and onto the floor
sometimes I have to go in
and put her back into her bed again

So maybe this coffee is a bad idea
and maybe this might not work out for me
maybe a walk or a nap could win focus
all about Now

I woke myself up just to see you sleep
just to hear the quiet and just to have a look
at everything quiet all night
It's so good to be in the Dark moonlight

I woke myself up to rest my weary head
from all the work I'd done in those dreams I had
Like reading the books all night
It's so hard to read in the Dark moonlight

So maybe this coffee is a bad idea
and maybe this might not work out for me
maybe a walk or a nap could win focus
all about Now

(I like the poetry in this one, but my favourites on this album are No More and don't wannabe/liked by you. Also, this is the cutest music video: Me and My Friend)

matchbook

matchbook magazine

Finally! A pretty decent magazine for the young, urban woman who loves fashion, culture, books, and home cooking in equal measure. The best part is that the magazine is fully browsable online, with all featured items linked directly to the source, so you can immediately find that scarf belt (see previous post) or espresso machine that catches your eye.

Are you a matchbook girl?

<3 pamplemousse

Scarf Belts for the Unconventionally-Waisted

by Asprey London

I was so ecstatic when I saw this belt. Being a tiny person I can NEVER find a belt small enough for my waist and I am sure other unconventional body types have the same problem on the other side of the spectrum. This piece really dresses up the scarf belt option from bohemian to chic, and you can adjust it to any waist size. I can't wait to put to use my overflowing collection of scarves!

Try looping two shorter scarves together to get a different look front and back. Or use an extra long scarf to tie a large romantic statement bow in back of a simple form-fitting LBD.

(I think I will keep my eye open for a local cobbler or leather worker to make me an imitation of this 75 pound Asprey London belt!)

<3 pamplemousse