Wet Feet

woodland dreams

2010-07-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

if anyone would like to buy me a present anytime soon, i think i'd like something from this website please.

farm or woodland section. not interested in the trees or caves though.

i mean, just look at these!

summer reading

2010-07-16T17:02:00.000-07:00

i'd like to read a tonne of books this summer. i'm trying.

i just finished this one...and it was the best of the three or so books i have read since school ended.
it's one of those books that i love so so so much that i'd really rather not share it but keep it locked away just as a secret for me to know about and yet it is just too delightful to do such a thing.

so, i invite you all to read The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman.

This is the kind of book i aspire to create someday.

and this is one of my favourite pages...but there are so many...

anybody else have some really good, inspiring books to recommend?

the best way to spend summer solstice?

2010-06-22T16:27:00.000-07:00

...contra dancing under the moon, with a group of Quebecois seniors, on the top of Mont Royal.

life's nice.

splish splash

2010-06-02T20:58:00.000-07:00

my first, messy foray into Diana-land.

The Aardvark Manifesto

2010-06-01T22:34:00.001-07:00

I can subscribe to this. I guess I already do.
from here.

short lessons in love

2010-05-09T10:10:00.000-07:00

I love: summer in montreal
I sit: on my balcony, in every park, on harbour docks
I drink: hendricks gin with blackberries and strawberries
I eat: mangoes. peel off the skin and take a bite. share.
I read: all the books and drawn and quarterly, and then I buy just one
I bike: everywhere. new basket, broken fender, broken bell. I make noise, I'm not sly.
I listen to: Tallest Man, Daniel, Fred & Julie, Andrew Bird, Wilco, BSS, Hoof and the Heel
I dance: in the streets, in the parks after midnight
I steal: lilacs and cherry blossoms

i guess marc johns says it best.

2010-04-28T19:09:00.001-07:00

gah.

via Laura, via Jeff'm, from here

2010-04-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

procrastination/escapism has reached a new low: watching a kid sit on the edge of the fountain, dangling his legs, on the charlottetown live eye.
I gotta get back to work.

"Anyone can do this assignment, you don't need any special yogi certification."

2010-04-19T20:39:00.000-07:00

I have never laughed so genuinely nor been so enamoured with an essay topic.
I'm writing about Harrell Fletcher and Miranda July's Learning to Love You More for an Art History paper and I'm finding it surprisingly...pleasant. How often, in my four years in university, have I used such a word to describe a paper? The instances are very few.

I could have just plagiarized myself and handed in an old essay on any other dull topic, about the YBAs or something. It's not like the class was anything important; it was a 300-level contemporary art class that I mostly skipped out of boredom. But I guess there was some desire to end my undergraduate career with four essays that really interested me. So I chose LTLYM as my subject and I just grinned my way through an entire evening of research.

This is my second last essay. My last one will be on Asterios Polyp, a masterpiece of a comic book, which I suggest you read. Borrow my copy. I'm pretty excited to write that one too.
It's just a matter of time. Two ten pagers in uh, four days? eep.

take out your pencils, it's (take-home) exam time

2010-04-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

This I don't mind writing about:

(Go to Works --->Video --->King. Watch. Then watch Queen. Then, inspired, perform your own version.)

http://www.candicebreitz.net

This, I do:

Gross.
1 essay done, take home exam due tomorrow, 1 essay half-done, then another exam, two more essays. Then figure out what to do with my life. I think I've crossed off "Explore Biocybernetics in art" from that list of potential options, after dealing with those babies up there. Ick.

tell me I don't strike you as the ignorant hipster type...

2010-04-06T12:10:00.000-07:00

...cause I just got scouted to be an "employee" of American Apparel and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

it's an extremely shallow process, in which they take your picture and get your e-mail address so they can invite you in for a "training session".
I wonder what goes on there?

-How to look bored and ironic on the job?
-How to colour-coordinate neons?
-How to get away with wearing sunglasses inside, at work?
-How to convince customers that a 40 dollar strip-of-cotton "scarf" made by illegal immigrants in LA is JUST the thing they need?

yeah, probably.

(also: they don't even ask you if you speak french! cause it's not even necessary! which is completely illegal in quebec, where a customer is supposed to be addressed in french first!)

return

2010-04-05T15:38:00.001-07:00

(via ffffound!)

2010-03-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

my bicycle bell is loose.
it rings inadvertently whenever I cycle over bumps and potholes.
My street is especially bumpy, and quite busy. I bike down it during the day and everyone thinks I am ringing to get their attention. They turn their heads as I bike by.

The worst part is when it's friday night, the beginning of Shabbat, and the Hasidic Jews are solemnly walking home from shul...one long line of black hats and long cloaks and there I go, ringing like I'm the midnight ice cream truck of Outremont.

beautiful losers

2010-03-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

“In Montreal the cafes, like a bed of tulip bulbs, sprout from their cellars in a display of awnings and chairs. In Montreal spring is like an autopsy. Everyone wants to see the inside of the frozen mammoth. Girls rip off their sleeves and the flesh is sweet and white, like wood under green bark. From the streets a sexual manifesto rises like an inflating tire, ‘The winter has not killed us again!’ Spring comes into Quebec from Japan, and like a prewar Crackerjack prize it breaks the first day because we play too hard with it. Spring comes into Montreal like an American movie of Riviera Romance, and everyone has to sleep with a foreigner, and suddenly the house lights flare and it’s summer, but we don’t mind because spring is really a little flashy for our taste, a little effeminate, like the furs of Hollywood lavatories. Spring is an exotic import, like rubber love equipment from Hong Kong, we only want it for a special afternoon, and vote tariffs tomorrow if necessary.”

-Leonard Cohen

happy days.

2010-01-12T21:47:00.000-08:00

Free lentil soup and bread from the friendly French man at my neighbourhood deli makes me content with the world.

Does this happen in other places, that are not Montreal?
Sometimes I wonder.

Clues that indicate you may be on an Air Canada flight to the maritimes

2009-12-23T16:58:00.000-08:00

1. The security guards ask "why the long face?" when you stomp through the metal detector. They then ask if you'd like to watch television while you wait alone in the departure lounge.

2. The plane resembles a tiny icebox more than it does a plane.

3. The plane is filled with teenage army brats returning from Basic Training for the first time. They are ferociously afraid of flying and discuss the necessity of "packing a bowl at 2400 feet to ease the nerves there boys".

4. The flight attendant says "toodley-doo!" at the end of her loudspeaker message.

5. They serve Maized and Confused corn chips.

Fur found in Montreal this week

2009-12-14T20:59:00.000-08:00

1. Woman on St. Viateur wearing a hat made of raccoon, with the raccoon's face on the front. It was real. I kid you not.

2. Gal on the 80 bus with a hood/hat made out of rabbit, or something.

3. Student in the library, wearing the largest, most ostentatious fur coat. Made of mink. I think.

4. Other 80 bus rider, midnight...wearing a fucking silver fox around her neck. As in, I could see the tail and the dangle-y legs. I don't know if there was a face, cause that part was facing the window.

I have no problem with fur in fashion, in fact, I think it can be pretty great...but when it looks like you put a limp animal around your neck or on your head, then it gets a little weird.

free ribbons; espanol only.

2009-10-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

hmm,
I tried to find my local bread santa (ie. the person who works late at the bakery, making bread and perhaps handing out a free loaf or five) but ran into a problem when I knocked on the back door of Au Premier Moisson. The guy only spoke spanish. (Matthew, I need you here.)
My franglais and hand gestures just weren't cutting it. He did wave goodbye to me though!

Another funny thing that makes me love this city is the fact that the old man who works at the fabric store is helping me be under budget for my Hedwig and the Angry Inch costumes by giving me ribbons and lace for free. He also has a pretty great bartering system down. I asked for a nice button, he said, "how much you wanna pay?"...I got it for 50 cents.

This weekend=trying to put together a Thanksgiving meal without having a panic attack. I'm really only doing turkey, stuffing and gravy, but jeeeeze, it seems like such a production! Tomorrow morning I hit the farmers market, yes I do!

it's the long weekend...

2009-09-05T20:28:00.000-07:00

and I am full of lame.
Or just turning into an old lady.
one of the two.

time for early bedtime no.23129944295

red on the inside.

2009-08-27T20:22:00.001-07:00

got a box of fresh figs,
got 'em for cheap,
the man said i looked like his daughter,
"what are you, 13, 14?"

21

2009-08-24T07:36:00.001-07:00

most magical birthday ever ever ever.
thank you all.
happy.

young thai coconuts

2009-08-11T11:34:00.000-07:00

my matthew, coming to me in only six days!
then two weeks until I leave,
and can eat young thai coconuts on this dock again...
though I probably won't have time.

2009-07-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

i'm just a blue, blue lobster. one in two million.

love it love it love it

2009-07-04T19:58:00.000-07:00

lobster-corn-boils, scrambler rides, kissing circles, dance parties forever, please.

little funny thoughts

2009-06-30T05:11:00.000-07:00

Listening to Merriweather Post Pavilion makes me taste oatmeal with strawberry jam.

The album was quite often my breakfasting music in Edinburgh, and all I could afford to eat over there was oatmeal. Is it clever that it was accompanied with Strawberry Jam? Is it?

Last night the power was out all over the city and it made for surreal night bikerides. Sam, Allie and I adventured around in the darkness and got caught in stormy sea showers.
Soaking wet wool sweater, stick your tongue out and catch all the raindrops.

I love that the Scrambler is free down at the waterfront. There is nothing like starting your day with a fast ol' midway ride. If anyone else shares my love of the Scrambler, I will happily join you for rides.

my dog has fleas

2009-06-03T19:45:00.000-07:00

My newest toy.
It was cheap as hell and it sounds like it, but I think we'll have fun together.

Lovely lovely lovely to be back in Montreal. It feels like nothing's changed since I left, except now there is the BIXI bike system, which is growing impressively by the hour. This morning Glynis, Jacob and I walked by an empty corner at Esplanade, an hour later we passed by again and found that a BIXI bike station had been planted there, and most of the bikes were already in use.

Also in Montreal news, P.T. and I conducted a very important experiment today. Montreal bagels, Fairmount vs. St. Viateur. The ultimate bagel taste test.
I've always been a St. Viateur girl, mostly because this is also the street with the very best coffee, so St. V bagels usually go hand in hand with a latte from Olimpico or Club Social. However, P.T. has recently been won over by Fairmount, so we decided we had to buy a fresh sesame seed bagel from each place and do a blind taste test. The winner was Fairmount, for delivering a sweeter and generally more tasty bagel. I kind of felt like a traitor for being won over to the other side. Nevertheless, St. V bagels will always hold a place in my heart...nothing beats a warm bagel and a coffee on any terrace on that street.

Bowery love, one last time.

2009-05-25T02:38:00.000-07:00

Photos from the show I went to last night at the Bowery. I just realized how crap the colours look on here. Oh well, I can show you all the real things later.

This is Madeline, from Athens, Georgia. She's kinda folky, kinda country, and has these big brown eyes which seemed to stare at me the whole time she was playing. She's got captivating stage presence and such a songbird voice.
Defiance, Ohio played SUCH A FUN SET. (Sammy, I'm sorry you weren't there, but I danced extra hard for you) They were so crazy energetic, and I was surprised at how many people were familiar with them...there were lots of singalongs and lots of dance dance dancing.

If it wasn't for the Bowery, Edinburgh would be a lot less fun. All the shows I saw here definitely were highlights of the year.

guess what?!

2009-05-24T11:06:00.000-07:00

TWO DAYS, MY FRIENDS! TWO DAYS!

kings of the castle

2009-05-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

We made it to the top of Arthur's Seat yesterday. There was great celebration. Patrick took the photo. It was nice to have the islanders come visit, we had a good weekend together. Now they're off to Belgium and I'll meet them in Germany later.

It's actually quite strange to think I'm leaving in almost two weeks. Spring has made the city much nicer and my life is more exciting but now I've got to leave it. I'm in the process of saying my goodbyes, to people and places, and any dislike I've had of Scotland is disappearing fast.

Four more exams to write. I was studying on the terrace today and had a sunburn within fifteen minutes again, so I decided sunscreen had to be purchased. Walked up to Boots and discovered that the Scots aren't much for sunscreen...they seem to prefer "After-Sun Lotion" or lotion with an SPF of 8. Anything that was actually sunscreen was over 14 pounds (!!)...I did find some cheap stuff...I think it's for babies though.

Four more to go, four more to go.
Two more Mondays on this continent.

2009-04-30T06:17:00.001-07:00

Oh wowee, I just booked another plane ticket.
Berlin between May 18th and May 24th? I guess so!
I'm thinking that maybe I'd like to squeeze Prague in there as well...it's gonna be one of those packed 'gotta-see-it-all' kinda trips.
One last adventure before I adventure on outta this continent.

and I'm flying Ryanair this time. It would not be a complete stay in Europe if I didn't fly on the shittiest of all discount airlines at least once.

Yeah! Exciting!

show me the roof

2009-04-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

Some exciting things that happened, on my best adventure ever...

Rotterdam:

Seeing the entire city while sitting on the back of Willem's bike. Going fast, through parks, by lakes, over bridges, big streets, so close to the trams that I could stick my foot out and touch them if I wanted to.

Being introduced to the classic Dutch food, bread with chocolate sprinkles on top.
Spending days by the lake, in the sunshine.
Endless feasts, numerous dance parties.
Motel Mozaique...seeing Grampall Jookabox, Dent May and his Magnificent Ukelele, Fever Ray and dancing like an absolute crazy person at The Whitest Boy Alive. AMAZING.

Bike rides on my own (actually, Daan's) bike, which had no pedals, but I have picked up biking skills from those crazy Dutch.

Delft:

Easter monday picnic in the park, by a lake. Lotsa good food, playing in the sun, feet in the water.
Rooftop barbeque!

Leiden:

Biking 40km one day with Jenny and Bob, to see all the tulip fields in bloom.
Hanging out in the chauffeurs cafe in the Keukenhof gardens...we were too poor to pay the steep entrance price, so we just had coffee with the bus drivers instead.
Big potluck with friends and other couchsurfers...italian pasta, malaysian chicken, japanese curry...ALL eaten with chopsticks, fun.

Antwerp:

The best coffee in the nicest cafe in town...I went everyday and drank spicey, pink, iced lattes.
Experimental films, performance art, red wine Friday night.
Eating all the free olives at the Saturday market, exploring all over.
Pancake party!

Ahh, it was so much fun. I have new friends all over the place!

Needless to say, it's kinda hard to be back in Scotland, having to do work again. Ben and I were saying how we feel guilty about all our previous complaints about Edinburgh cause the Meadows are just so damn pretty in the sunshine, covered in cherry blossoms.

I Heart Holland

2009-04-07T10:27:00.000-07:00

Amsterdam adventures!
I spent 6 days in Amsterdam with a blue bicycle, surrounded by great people. Astrid introduced me to a bunch of her friends and we had a wonderful time. I immediately went into summer mode, since it was sunny and 20 degrees almost every day. We did lots of sitting around the canals with ice cream, eating apple tart on cafe patios, and picnics! I was also introduced to the joy of fresh stroopwafels. We like food.
Having a bike was by far the best part though. I miss biking so much, and Amsterdam is just the best place to bike around. I got to see so much more of the city.

Perhaps the craziest thing we did was participating in International Pillowfight Day...look it up, it happens all over the world! Astrid, her friends Annie & Chris and I went to Dam Square on Saturday afternoon, armed with pillows and joined hundreds of other people with pillows and had a hilarious, happy pillow fight that lasted about an hour. The pictures are nuts, I'll definitely put some up when I get home. Feathers were flying everywhere, in the air, on the ground, it was like a fluffy winter. We were absolutely covered in feathers. So much fun.

Right now I'm in Utrecht. I arrived yesterday and met my first couchsurfing host, Charlotte. She's really cool and we've got lots in common. She showed me around the city and then we made a summery salad and sat in her back garden with a bottle of wine and enjoyed the weather. Today I wandered around by myself for a bit, exploring the canals and city hall, which I accidently stumbled into, thinking it was an art gallery. It kind of was though...there was some sort of young artist exhibition, so that was interesting. I met up with Charlotte later on and we went to the University museum and botanic garden, which was really nice.

We were researching an art/music festival happening in Rotterdam right now, called Motel Mozaique. It looked pretty sweet, and then today my Rotterdam host text-messaged me asking if I wanted to go to it with him, so now I've got a festival ticket for Friday. Excellent. Handsome Furs and ...AYWKUBTTOD and loads of other sweet bands are playing. Whoa whoa whoa!

So yeah, a couple more days in Utrecht, then Rotterdam, then Delft, The Hague, Leiden, and Haarlem. That'll take me to April 20th, then home. Maybe I'll get another chance to update later on...

EDIT: really good pillow fight shots here. There's even a photo of me!

music in my ears again!

2009-03-31T07:17:00.000-07:00

AHHHH! Megan+Free iPod=happy!
Take that you meanie iPod theif!

Old Stone Churches, Part Two

2009-03-28T04:21:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, my friend Kevin, who has impeccable taste in music, handed me a dvd filled with albums. He introduced me to Beck, Sigur Ros, Nico, and perhaps most intriguingly, to Vashti Bunyan. The album was Just Another Diamond Day, and it's full of soft little songs about nature, the seasons, and love. She has a tiny whisper of a voice, the music is empyreal.

Truthfully, up until last night, I thought Vashti Bunyan was a fairy.

But, she is real! And she played at The Bowery last night; a rare event, since she gave up music 35 years ago and has not performed much since.
I arrived early with Tamsin and Mike and we were among the first there. The show was in the actual church, not in the basement like last time, and little chairs and tables were set up in the nave. We sat up front, drank organic beer and listened to the excellent pre-show entertainment, funky piano jazz by a slick looking guy in a fedora.

The first act was questionable...some gal playing sickenly optimistic songs on ukelele. We liked her backing musicians more than her. One guy played the cello and the other played the omnichord and a snare-drum-box-thing (which seems like a pretty fantastic invention if you're in a band, travelling a lot, and don't have too much of a requirement for percussion).

The second act shocked us...two guys got up onto the stage with guitars, one guy was older and called himself Lucky Jim. Don't know what the other guy's name was, but it doesn't matter, because Lucky Jim was CAT STEVENS. Seriously, he started to sing and Tamsin, Mike and I turned to each other, with wide eyes, and we all whispered 'Cat Stevens?!'. So yeah, I know Cat Stevens is now Yousef Islam and he doesn't perform anymore but this guy was so convincing. His sang his folky love songs with Cat-like gusto and I just sat back and enjoyed it. It was pretty amazing.
By now the church was surprisingly full and anticipating the headline act. Vashti Bunyan came on stage with two other musicians. Apparently she is 64...she looks about 35-40. She sat in the centre with her guitar and started to sing, with her little voice that hasn't changed a bit. She also told us lots of stories of her hippy days...she really did the hippy thing. She walked from London to the Isle of Skye with a horse and caravan to set up a sort of dream-commune thing with Donovan. How crazy is that?
The set was a wonderful mixture of old songs and new songs and stories, and when it was over and we were all filing out of the church, you could hear everyone humming the flute melody from 'Just Another Diamond Day'...it was special.

Winning the lottery

2009-03-13T04:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my friends and I went to the grocery store to get ingredients for the dinner party we were having. We all hit up the ATM outside the store before going in. When it was my turn, I went up to the machine, pushed the button to withdraw 20 pounds and out of the machine came my two tens and another ten, crumpled up in between the two.
I started yelling "I won! I won! I WON!"

Luckily I was among friends.

Winning the lottery at the ATM...it can happen to you.

Hooray, a new month!

2009-03-01T04:48:00.000-08:00

Look what I'm waking up to this morning! Aren't they lovely?

It's definitely springtime here and I'm happy about that. I just got back from an amazing adventure in Amsterdam, Bruges and Brussels. I've got a new favourite place but more on that later.

Happy March!

On Scottish/English Food, Part 2

2009-02-17T04:24:00.000-08:00

ahh, the Crumpet.
Quite possibly my favourite British food. Introduced to me by my friend Andriana, who was horrified when I admitted I'd never eaten one before. Seriously, I thought crumpets were just those horn-shaped chippy-things that come in a red bag...know what I mean? Well, since she has introduced me, I have become maybe a bit addicted to them.
It's like when you make pancakes, and there are extras left over and you put them in the fridge and snack on them later and realize that leftover pancakes out of the fridge are pretty tasty. A crumpet has the consistency of a thick, hole-y, leftover pancake. Put it in the toaster, spread a bit of butter on top, it's amazing. (You really should click on the picture to get the whole idea.)
Oh yeah, and they're hella cheap too.

Also, I'd just like to point out, since bragging can be fun, that today it is 11 degrees and sunny outside. Yessss. I'm going outside to read!

old stone churches and pretty songs

2009-02-15T14:02:00.000-08:00

occasionally, magical things happen in Edinburgh.

Last night my friend Tamsin and I discovered the Bowery, a semi-secret venue in the bowels of a centuries-old church. The arts/music/culture rag The Skinny were throwing a party with music from Edinburgh folk bands My Kappa Roots, Rob St. John and eagleowl and it was a pretty special night.

After peeping around the empty interior of the church (it was MASSIVE and all in stone, quite cool) we went down to the basement and found the room where the bands were playing. We eased our way up to the front and found Rob St. John and his band playing amongst the old lamps and dusty framed pictures of what may once have been the church's parlour...a couple old ladies knitting, drinking tea and eating biscuits and the scene would have been complete.
RSJ's set was beautiful and haunting and the setting really complemented it. His songs are long, drifting, layered melodies that make you think of the sea. Guitar, double-bass, ukelele, drums and most intriguingly, the harmonium, make up the band's instruments...sometimes they have someone playing the musical saw, which is amazing to watch.
When they finished their set, Tamsin and I explored the place a bit more. Other rooms we found included a bar, a smaller room filled with sofas and old chairs, and a red-lit lounge where all the ceiling pipes had been covered with aluminum foil, making it very space-like. There were strings of lights that looked like red ring-pops and silver hanging mobiles.
We went back into the music room for the next set from eagleowl, which seemed to be Rob St. John reshuffled and with a new double-bass player. They did quite well in their new positions though, and delivered a lovely, folky set that was mostly instrumental with occasional singing from the lady bassist and the bearded guitarist (who looks EXACTLY like the ginger drummer from Brent Randall and his Pinecones). They finished with a sweet, jaunty little tune called Will You Call Me Motherfucker, which left everyone feeling pretty happy.

We all had to leave at 11:30, because of the place doesn't have a license to be open any later, which is sad because I could have stayed there all night.
It felt like a bit of a eureka moment for me, as in, 'ohhh, this is where people go for good music; here is where you've all been hiding.'

On Scottish Food, Part 1

2009-02-12T09:22:00.000-08:00

I present to you, Haggis.

Lovingly prepared by me and fellow Canadian friend Ben for a Burns supper a couple weeks ago.
Our friend Shaun put it best..."You get excited because it looks like stuffing and you put a big forkful in your mouth but then you realize that sadly, it is not stuffing."

Megan's Scottish/English Lexicon

2009-01-25T05:35:00.000-08:00

Often I get confused when talking to people or reading magazine/newspaper articles over here.
I get funny looks every time I say the word "sweater" and my friends regularly have to explain the meanings of words to me. Ahh, the cultural experience of Scotland.
Here are some words and definitions that I have learned:

Dob
verb, dobbing
1. To tell on someone, to tattle. Often used by young children.
If you flush mom's jewelry down the toilet, I'll dob on you!

Cardigan
noun
1. A long-sleeved garment (sweater) with buttons on the front.
Gee, Simon, I wish I could afford a nice cashmere cardigan like yours.

Chav
noun, derogatory slang
1. The British version of "trailer trash", from what I gather. Often wears tracksuits, gold jewellry, white puffy coats, etc.
Hey Brenda, I see you're favouring the Chav look with your bright pink sweatsuit, hoop earrings and that new platinum dye job. Nice!

Chuffed
adjective
1. delighted; pleased; satisfied
I was chuffed when I heard my professor describe my essay as 'wondrous'.

Jumper
noun
1. A pullover sweater, without buttons, hoods or pockets.
I bought you this orange knitted beauty for the ugly jumper party.

OTT
British expression
1. Over the top; excessive, outrageous behaviour; uncalled for.
That publicity stunt pulled by Homecoming Scotland with the elephants, fireworks and dancing haggis was a little bit OTT.

Neeps and tatties
noun, Scottish origin
1. 'Neeps' refers to the root vegetable Rutabaga, or Swede, that originated as a cross between a cabbage and a turnip. 'Tatties' is a Scottish word for potatoes.
We'll need lots of whiskey to wash down those starchy neeps and tatties at our Burns supper tonight...pass the haggis!

Noughties
noun
1. A name for the decade from 2000 to 2009; the term has been adopted by the British media, including the BBC, but there really is no official name for this decade.
I sure hope nu-rave culture dies with the Noughties, my eyes burn from all that neon.

RA
noun, British slang
1. Rich asshole
The young RA lovingly packed her UGG boots and straightening iron into her Louis Vuitton suitcase before setting out on her gap-year adventure to Brazil.

Tosser
noun, derogatory British slang
1. synonymous with wanker
That lad's a bit of a tosser, why don't you dance with me instead?

2008-11-30T07:31:00.000-08:00

When you are writing an essay, it is essential to have large amounts of chocolate, cereal, tea, coffee and things to make you laugh on study breaks.
Thank you McSweeney's, for all your wonderful Lists, especially this one:

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/lists/28MikeSacks.html

supersamplerScotland

2008-11-27T09:24:00.000-08:00

I don't really have much to report or any exciting stories, but I did get some Scottish supersampler photos developed.
The top one is the view of the city from the castle on the top of the hill.
The middle is the view of the city from the botanical gardens
The bottom one is a church, from many angles.

woohoo.

Guy Fawkes Night

2008-11-05T13:35:00.000-08:00

This is what you're missing in Edinburgh tonight:

Fireworks are a lot less exciting when you're standing in a field, in the drizzle.

long-distance partying

2008-10-30T16:39:00.000-07:00

It's so nice to be included in art gallery shenanigans even when I am an ocean away from the party!
I got toted around Siobhan's apartment tonight on skype, so that I could take part in Ihor's going-away party. There was even a toast to me, how lovely!

I've just had a very relaxing reading week, with lots of movie-watching, gallery days, reading and sleeping. I didn't travel anywhere because I had three rehearsals this week, but last week's adventures around Scotland with the Stewart clan got a bit of my travel antsy-ness out of my system for a while...a least til December, I think.

Last night I went to a talk at the National Gallery: Tim Marlow in conversation with Tracey Emin
and yeah, it was amazing. She has had this crazy life and it all basically comes out in her artwork, which spans everything from sculpture to painting to textiles to video, performance and installation art. I suggest you check her out. The Gallery of Modern Art has a retrospective of her work up right now and I spent the whole day going through it on Monday. Anyways, her talk was really interesting and also pretty hilarious. She's a fantastic speaker and had lots to say about her work and her relationship to it. She also told us about her ridiculous dreams...such as, falling off a wooden roller coaster and being flung onto a giant penis, and holding on for dear life until she realized she could shimmy down the veins to save herself. (Sorry for the imagery there.)

When I arrived home after the talk, feeling all inspired and creative, I made a sweet sailor costume for Halloween.

Also, I put a ton of photos up on facebook. Go look at them, I'm too tired to put more up here.

Found Adventures

2008-10-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

Maybe you know Found, a magazine that compiles random notes, scribbles, signs, letters etc. people find on the streets all over North America (and branching out internationally these days). Well, last night they did a show at the Forest, an eclectic and independent art space, supported by a vegan cafe. (Forest is kind of like Cagibi in Montreal, but better and more fun. Or like Ampersand, if we got way dirtier and embraced freeganism)

The Found team is made up of four amiable guys from the States and they put on a pretty entertaining show. Things got started with Brett, the world's youngest sword swallower, who got up on stage and proceeded to hammer a large nail into his nose, stick his tongue in a mousetrap, breathe fire, and swallow real swords of varying lengths and shapes. One sword was all twisty and horrible looking - the worst one to swallow, we were told. Davy and Peter, the brothers who started the project, literally found this kid in a bar in West Virginia not too long ago and invited him to join them as they toured the States and now Europe.

Davy came up on stage next, telling us about how Found magazine got started from his interest in all the strange paper scraps and random things he would find in the schoolyard next to the house he grew up in. He read some of his favourites...funny to do lists, love notes, notes passed between girls at school, a hilarious budget ($30/month=internet, $40/mth=electricty $300/mth=rent, $35/mth=food, $500/mth=alcohol, $600/mth=crack), strange receipts and funny signage.

Peter, the musician, has written songs inspired by the little scraps of people's lives that make up Found Magazine and he performed some of them for us. He's quite a good songwriter and the stories behind the found items are brought to life in his music.

The show finished with Davy's top 10 found items, many of which had me doubled over with laughter. Andy, the DJ, kept the party going with good music and I decided to stay and make some friends. It was a success, they were all really nice and I heard lots of stories about their European tour adventures, favourite finds and life in freakshows (from Brett the sword-swallower, who has lived one of the most interesting lives and is only nineteen.)

And those were my fun adventures at Forest.

oh god, there are drunk opera singers outside my window singing Josh Groban. Kill me now.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-10-12T14:54:00.000-07:00

This year's feast of turkey (from a package), cheese and tomato torte (from a package), tomato salad (fresh), sticky raisin pudding (from a package) and wine is brought to my desk from Marks & Spencer. Hooray for department stores.

I did get a bit nostalgic about Thanksgivings past, such as last year's feast in Montreal with some of my favourite boys...

In one week I will be eating my face off when the Stewart clan arrives in the motherland. I'm excited.

talk Settlers to me...

2008-10-03T17:02:00.000-07:00

overheard in the lineup for the theatre tonight:

geeky girl #1: I think ore and wheat are the best. That's what I need to start collecting.
geeky boy #1: Yeah, that's what Peter and Scott do. They always win.
gg#1: I gotta try that tactic!
gb#1: I've tried it...but I still lost against them.
gg#1: We can try it when we get home.
(geek boy kisses geek girl on the nose.)

and now...
A sunday stroll in the waters of Leith:

'what are you DRINKING?!'

2008-10-02T04:24:00.000-07:00

I sorely miss dancing in Montreal.
I went out with the Floor 2 Bitties last night to a club. It had a light up dance floor, like in Saturday Night Fever.
However, the music was total shit. But EVERYONE loved it! All Britpop (Spice Girls, Sclub7, Five, and basically any other britpop band you can think of) aaaall the time. And everyone sings along.

Also, another funny thing...
I went up to the bar and ordered a bottle of Stella. The bar tender told me a pint was the same price, so I got a pint instead. When I brought it back to where we were sitting, the girls were oddly shocked that I was drinking beer. Then I looked around...everyone in the club had vodka coolers in their hands. Even the five older guys sitting at the table beside us. Orange vodka coolers, all around.
I was the only one with a glass of beer. No joke.

Coffee vs. Ballet

2008-09-27T14:47:00.000-07:00

Today I bought myself a coffee maker for 9 pounds.

Then I bought a ticket to the Scottish ballet for 7 pounds.

The coffee I made before the show was quite good, but the ballet was incredible.
There were 3 acts: the first was a piece set to 5 different Radiohead songs, the second was supposedly inspired by film and the way characters move in and out of frame (for some reason, I was thinking of Blade Runner during this one), and the third act was set in the 1930s with lots of period love songs and pretty costumes.
Radiohead was my favourite...they started, surprisingly, with 'Fitter, Happier' and then moved on to 'Creep', which was completely entrancing. 'Idioteque' was also very impressive, with 12 dancers onstage, just y'know, doing amazing contemporary ballet stuff.

My first foray into a theatre in Scotland was also a bit of a cultural experience, because:

At intermission, they serve ice cream in the theatre. (I'm told this happens in theatres all over the U.K.)

Between each act, at intermission, a "Safety Curtain" is dropped down in front of the red velvet curtain. This seemed extremely odd to me, but after some googling, I have discovered the reason behind the curtain. In 1911, a disastrous fire occurred onstage while an illusionist named Lafayette was taking a bow. A stage lamp fell, igniting a drape and killing 8 people, including the illusionist. So yes, safety first at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre.

Here, have some photos...

this is my street:
Near where I live:

The first good cup of coffee I had in Edinburgh, last saturday:

my new city

2008-09-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

When the bus driver drove me into Edinburgh on Monday, he told me this:
"There are three things Edinburgh has lots of; that's churches, pubs and golf courses."
And I thought, "oh, am I ever in for a treat."

I asked him about bicycling in the city, since there were a few bike symbols painted on the roads. He laughed at me, saying that biking here is pretty much a death wish. That killed my dreams of finding a beautiful Scottish bike. Walking around, I realize he is sort of right...I can barely even figure out what way the traffic is coming when I'm walking and I also don't know how keen I am on biking up hills of cobblestones.

I live in this hostel, which houses alongside backpackers and numerous stag/"hen" parties, 40 students from the University of Edinburgh. It's a pretty sweet deal, as I have a corner room with my own bathroom and a cleaning service once a week. What?!

The Scots are a very friendly bunch. They have little hesitations towards making new friends, so I've met lots of interesting people. On Wednesday I managed to get a ticket for the sold-out Bon Iver concert and while I was standing up at the front of the concert hall, I was tapped on the shoulder by a couple who were doing a review for some british entertainment website. They asked if I would be interested in taking photos for them to post with the review, since I had my camera with me. The results are here. Pretty cool, right?

Today I think I am finally over my jet-lag. It's a sunny day, so I'm going exploring.