Another reason to live in Barcelona

MACBA Skateboarding, originally uploaded by ridestate.

It's a skateboarding mecca according to this article.

Formalism

In art theory, formalism is the concept that a work's artistic value is entirely determined by its form--the way it is made, its purely visual aspects, and its medium. Formalism emphasizes compositional elements such as color, line, shape and texture rather than realism, context, and content. In visual art, formalism is the concept that everything necessary in a work of art is contained within it. The context for the work, including the reason for its creation, the historical background, and the life of the artist, is considered to be of secondary importance. Formalism plays a part in evaluating art.

vapour trails

vapour trails, originally uploaded by hangman's beautiful daughter.

I woke up with the sun in my face. It's a beautiful day. I have my last paper for the semester due tomorrow and i am working 8+ hours today. I don't know if i will finish it in time. Instead i am looking at photos on flickr. HELP!!

Procrastination.. can you say BOOTY!!

flâneur

The term flâneur comes from the French masculine noun flâneur—which has the basic meanings of "stroller", "lounger", "saunterer", "loafer"—which itself comes from the French verb flâner, which means "to stroll". Charles Baudelaire developed a derived meaning of flâneur—that of "a person who walks the city in order to experience it". Because of the term's usage and theorization by Baudelaire and numerous thinkers in economic, cultural, literary and historical fields, the idea of the flâneur has accumulated significant meaning as a referent for understanding urban phenomena and modernity.

The Alibi Room

The Alibi Room, originally uploaded by bcbrews.

This restaurant/lounge, and now a modern Tavern has been around for over 11 years. Hanging on the end of Gastown, we have had many gatherings here. The food and beverages have always been great. It is under new management and is now a micro brewery with a large selection of brews and organic menu items making it a perfect setting for my 30th Birthday party. It got an awesome review today in the Westender that sums it up.

Capilano Canyon

Capilano Suspension Bridge - Canyon Lights, originally uploaded by Capilano Suspension Bridge.

For almost 12 years i went to school right next to the Capilano Canyon in North Vancouver. We would be forced to do physical excerise and run through the park, and on other fun days play capture the flag. Now as an adult i like to walk through the massive green forrest. It is such an amazingly beautiful spot. Tourists from all over the world come and pay money to go across the suspension bridge when you can go to the free and even nicer one in Lynn Canyon.

The biggest scam of our century

l'eau du canal - canal water, originally uploaded by Lost moustache.

One of my goals this years was to use my Reusable Water and Coffee mug as much as i can. I think i probably saved over 200 bottles and cups from the wastelands and our dumps so far, and i am not going to stop.
Bottled Water is one of the biggest scams.. and the world is finally catching on! Many Universities and other gathering places are making it illegal. Water from our taps is perfectly safe... where do you think the bottled water is coming from.. the same taps!!! SIGG has some great bottles.

[spring]

[spring], originally uploaded by feeb.

I saw the first signs of the Cherry Blossoms on the trees in East Vancouver. Soon our city will full of the luscious pink flowers.

Who doesn't love

Granville Island, originally uploaded by Cory Steven Gibbons.

Ferry Boats and Granville Island?! Do you know the ferry boats do a synchronized performance during the Fireworks displays in the summer? Supposedly the Fireworks are back on for 2009.. i guess they got there funding.. so that means more ferry boat shows.

A day in the life

Everyone needs a little Beatles

Watching the Big Fat Flakes in Whistler

hiking Boundary Bowl at Whistler, originally uploaded by Judy B.

I am sitting in the Blenz in the Whistler Village North .. what i call the new village but it's really not new anymore. Whistler contains a large part of my youth, and when i am here i feel like i am 'home'. One of my first ever memories was sitting in a baby seat on our A frame late 60's style cabin on Alta Lake in the summer.. and seeing a brown bear. It's an image that will replay itself in my childhood several times, and in many repetitive dreams. At that time there were not many people in Whistler.. you still had to hike to ski down a hill. By the time i was 5 years old i was enrolled in Kids Camp on Blackcomb Mountain and i remember the first time i went skiing, remember not being able to get off the Magic chair lift and also not being able to control my skis and crashing into the the fence that protects the chair lift on the bottom. Many weekends of pancakes, bacon, and skiing. What more could a kid ask for?
As i got older and hit puberty I discovered snowboarding.. there was this brand new shop called Westbeach that open on Marine Drive in North Vancouver, and because i thought skateboarding was cool (i was trying to master the Ollie), my friends and i started hanging out there one summer. This is also the place where i discovered Nirvana and grunge (Thanks to Chip of Lululemon fame). For a 12-13 year old now looking back we were pretty hip, but also incredibly influenced. We started wearing plaid and the Westbeach hoodies that turned into a huge trend. My new friend Fiona and I started snowboarding that year (i am guessing it would have been 1991 or 92). We were some of the first snowboarders to hit Blackcomb mountain never mind.. women to start snowboarding on the mountain. I think it was a couple years before we started to see other Women snowboarding. I think we kind of knew we were doing something that one day would be huge but at the time we had no idea.. we wore sorels as boots and had are massive fluorescent Sims snowboards that were awkward and so heavy. I was so happy when new companies like Burton hit the market and i got my next snowboard a Burton at Bellisfair Mall.. it was like snowboarding on clouds.. no more edges catching, feet coming out of boots.. and now to this day.. i tested some of the new boards a couple years ago and the technology has come so far! Thank god! Every time i took a chair lift i was worried my foot would fall off it was that heavy.
And this was just the beginning.. after the hormones hit, i could write a novel of my exploits as as crazy teenager skipping school, hitch hiking, having parties at the 'champagne chalet', and sharing a fake ID to get into Tommy's Africa's to see DJ Czech on school nights.

The Best Bras on EARTH!

After to many of my friends ranting and raving about these bra's.. and me wearing the same one for months on end.. i decided to check out Change. There are 4 locations in Vancouver. I walked away with 3 bras and a bunch of discounts for next time.. which i know, and the store knows i will be back. They also fit you, and my size ranged into part of the alphabet that i didn't know existed in bras.

Twouble with Twitters

I really don't care for twitter and this video basically sums it up

touch my body

BC’s minimum wage soon tied for Canada’s lowest

March 15th, 2009 by Keith Reynolds

On April 15th British Columbia officially wins the race to the bottom.

That is the day New Brunswick raises its minimum wage to $8.00 an hour. When that happens New Brunswick, PEI and British Columbia will be tied with the lowest minimum wage in Canada.

This three-way tie won’t last for long though. On September 1st NB’s minimum wage goes up to $8.25.

It’s a lot cheaper to live in New Brunswick and PEI than in BC. Canada Mortgage and Housing (CMHC) publishes a national rental market report. Its most recent publication found renting a two-bedroom apartment in Moncton NB cost $656. In Charlottetown PEI it cost $660. Here in Vancouver the cost was over $1,100 - almost twice as much.

There aren’t many places in Canada where it costs as much to live as Vancouver. In Toronto, CMHC reports it costs $1,095 to rent a two-bedroom apartment. On March 31st Ontario is raising its minimum wage to $9.50. In Calgary it also costs more than $1,100 to rent the two-bedroom apartment. Alberta is raising its minimum wage to $8.80 on April 1st.

In Vancouver a minimum wage earner working full time would have about $240 left in their pocket after paying the rent.

New Brunswick is actually embarrassed about coming late to minimum wage increases. NB Labour Minister Donald Arseneault told the CBC, “It’s embarrassing. We’re last in Canada,” and “We have a lot to do. Businesses also have to look in the mirror.”

Incidentally, on May 1st Saskatchewan’s minimum wage goes up to $9.25. Manitoba’s minimum goes up to $8.75 the same day. Newfoundland’s goes up to $9.00 on July 1st.

It’s time for British Columbia’s government to look in the mirror as well.

Van Gogh: Brush with Genius at Science World

The first large format film about Vincent van Gogh in Imax® : a totally new vision of the artist.
Now playing at Science World!
Vincent, and two of his ardent admirers will take us on a journey to the source of his inspiration. We will retrace and discover the vitality and freedom of one of the world’s greatest painters.

A unique experience : the imersion into the work and life of Vincent Van Gogh.

Zaki Ibrahim

Tonight at the Biltmore you can catch Zaki Ibrahim or you can listen here.  I am going to Whistler or else i would be there.

Charles Manson is still not free!

A new photo of Manson was released yesterday at the age of 74. He was convicted  for the conspiring to murder 7 people in 1969. I actually did a lot of readings and watched a few documentaries on Manson, and even though horrendous acts did come out of some words he proclaimed, i do not think he actually wanted to do harm. You can see when he talks he is actually highly intelligent, and i do think what he says scares the 'system' because people do listen.  He is a good example of how the American prison system breeds a whole way of life.. it's what he learned from his mother and ended spending the majority of his life in jail. As he points out in his Geraldo Riveria interview the 'system' needs people in jail so they can breed the fear and keep the fear going. What scares me is the 'system' and there ability to control what we see and in turn fear. Charles Manson does not scare me.

Kings of Leon in the morning

This 20 year old girl was ranting and raving about this album so i finally decided to check it out. I bought a cd of theres years ago and realized it was all Christian rock so ever since then i kind of rejected them. I really do like this song though. They are singing about knocking up and loving so i sure hope they aren't singing about the Virgin Mary.

Earth artist Andy Goldsworthy

I really didn't know much about Earth Art until it was a topic in my Modern Art History Class. We got to watch this documentary Rivers and Tides and i found it so utterly inspiring, it gave me goose bumps. To create art solely out of objects in nature and doing no damage to the surrounding.. even if it's to capture that image for one second or breath.. so utterly brilliant. This doc captures his spirit and his inspiring work.

shake it

Click on images to enlarge them

Beautiful Losers

I have not seen this but i really want to see it now

 

If anyone knows where i can see this please let me know!

Fridge of the Future

Designed by Angeline Meloche, student designer from the University of New South Wales, the Celsius is a modular refrigerator. I want one!

Too Busy To Pray? Don't Worry - Indulgences Are Back!

Too Busy To Pray? Don’t Worry - Indulgences Are Back!

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Talks Jill Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight

Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: She had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions -- motion, speech, self-awareness -- shut down one by one. An astonishing story.

The Slave Market

Jean Leon Gerome’s The Slave Market of 1867 appears to capture a European female nude getting inspected in an African Slave Market. It was during this time period slaves were sold at markets in Northern Africa. Gerome’s opens our eyes to a practice that was seen to be part of the culture of the Orient but gives it a European pornographic edge. His genre paintings combine the real (the market) and unreal (the nude). This painting reveals more about Europe at this time than a true depiction of life in North Africa.

Inspiration Vanessa Beecroft

The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins

White Madonna with Twins  Photographed 2006

Photo:  Vanessa Beecroft's VB61 Still Death! Darfur Still Deaf?

I have been taking Art History courses and am i am so inspired by what i see out there. I discovered this randomly read in the Globe and Mail and CBC this morning. Also her documentary was recently slammed at Sundance.

She seems to be one of those artist's who you will either love or hate.. and i absolutely love it.