Lotion

Equal parts catchy and creepy. Times like this, i almost wish i had a penis to tuck and dance like a loon round my living room to this song :)

"It rubs the lotion on its skin
Or else it gets the hose again
Yes Precious, it gets the hose..."

http://www.myspace.com/greenskeepersmusic

Stellar

Every Wedsneday night for the past month, a building on West Hastings St across from the refurbished Woodwards Building has played host to a wonderful series.The W2 Real Vancouver Writers Series,which was organised by Sean Cranbury and others has showcased writers, publishers and creative literary artists.

I had the pleasure and privilege of attending all four nights and as a result have been exposed to some phenominal work. Each night showcased local writers doing short readings of their work, book sales, signings, a multi-media component, music, cash bar and a weekly raffle. Last night was the final night in the series which featured luminaries such as writer and journalist Leilah Nadir, poet Weldon Gardner Hunter, artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, writer Timothy Taylor and Vancouver Poet Laureate Brad Cran. Cran closed the series with a rather fitting piece of work entitled 2010 Handbook for Entering Canada.

2010 Handbook for Entering Canada
For Howard White

Are you bring­ing any fruits or veg­eta­bles into Canada?
Have you vis­ited a farm in the last 30 days?
Are you now or have you ever been a mem­ber of a group that dis­agreed with government?
Do you intend to ride the zip line?
Do you approve of prod­uct place­ment in movies?
Do you like my uniform?
Are you bring­ing into Canada any cur­rency and/or mon­e­tary instru­ments of a value totalling CAN$10,000 or more per person?
Have you ever assaulted a police offi­cer with a stapler?
In describ­ing my uni­form, would you say that it a) inspires respect or b) breeds contempt?
Have you ever dreamed of shoot­ing a fas­cist dic­ta­tor off a Spanish balcony?
Do you approve of John Furlong?
Can you give me an exam­ple of the words in your head and how they might be used while in Canada?

Do you vote?
Are you now or have you ever been a per­son who car­ries MasterCard?
Were you aware of the Oka upris­ing, and if so, whose side were you on?
Remind me again about the zip line.
Do you read poetry?
Do you believe in home­less­ness as a right of the people?
If you were Canadian, and if it were pos­si­ble to do so, would you vote for John Furlong?
Does the colour of your socks match the colour of your pants?
Do your chil­dren own an effigy, stuffed or oth­er­wise, of the Olympic mascot?
Our pre­mier rode the zip line. Did you see that? It looks awesome.
Please arrange the fol­low­ing terms in order of pref­er­ence, start­ing with the least impor­tant: Health Care, Education, the Environment, Homelessness, Logo Placement at Sporting Events.

Do you now or have you ever owned a copy of Raffi’s Baby Beluga?
Do you own a cell phone?
Are you car­ry­ing any printed mat­ter that illus­trates same-sex love?
Are you bring­ing into Canada any firearms or other weapons?
Did you know that each year, more Canadians trust RBC Royal Bank® for their mort­gage solu­tions than any other provider?
What is the total mon­e­tary value of the goods you will be leav­ing in Canada?
Let’s go back to my uni­form for a minute, you gotta admit it’s pretty fuck­ing awesome.

Do you or have you ever lis­tened to Democracy Now?
Can you fin­ish the fol­low­ing sen­tence? Baby bel­uga in the deep blue ______________.
What colour is your heart?
Do you believe in global warming?
Have you ever pur­chased No Name brand prod­ucts? You know, the ugly yel­low ones?
If while in Canada you were tasered, would you be upset or go into car­diac arrest?
Do you sup­port an inter­na­tional unelected and roam­ing fourth tier of gov­ern­ment as set out by a non-existent char­ter of the IOC?

If your gov­ern­ment acted against the prin­ci­ples of democ­racy, would you be com­pelled to action or would you just tell yourfriends you are miffed?
Do you ever expe­ri­ence emo­tions stronger than miffment?
If some­one you knew spoke up against your gov­ern­ment, would you a) lis­ten or b) think that was a lit­tle weird?
Which of the fol­low­ing does not fit? Osama bin Laden, Louis Riel, Chris Shaw, Gordon Campbell.
When asked, will you keep the flow of traf­fic mov­ing smoothly?
How long will you be staying?

http://realvancouverwriters.com/

Cicatrix

"Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn’t it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life…You give them a piece of you. They didn’t ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn’t your own anymore.

Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like ‘maybe we should be just friends’ turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It’s a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I hate love."

Neil Gaiman

Thaumaturgy

John Nolan studied cinematography with the London Film Academy and Make up and technical effects for the performing arts with the London College of Fashion. He specializes in animatronics and has worked on 'Where the Wild Things Are', 'Dr Who', 'Being Human' and 'Hellboy 2' amongst others. His tongue in cheek faux advert for Nolan's Cheddar (below) brought a smile to my face and prompted me to check out his amazing showreel. Exceptionally talented guy.

http://www.johnnolanfilms.com/

Nom nom nom

Huge thanks to anyone who voted - An Cathach has been nominated for the Best Arts and Culture blog in the Irish Blog Awards 2010

A Hundred Other Words

There are those you let into your life, confide in, spend time and energy with, trust in & care about. These people support you; there’s an exchange of energy, respect and friendship.

Then there are those who you let into your life, confide in, spend time and energy with, trust in & care about. These people lie, take what suits and offer nothing whatsoever in return. The kicker is that they don’t have the courage to discuss it; instead choosing to build a wall of silence. Tired of trying, now I’ve chosen to walk away.

This one is for you

Housing is a Right, Not a Privilege

Vancouver is tangled up in a flurry of activity as it plays host to the 2010 winter Olympics. Over the past few days the city has been flooded with hundreds of thousands of people keen to watch the events and partake in the revelry that accompanies them. The games are a subject that strongly divides opinion but they have had a number of negative effects on the city.

Fiendish

Latest single from Gil Scott-Heron: 'Me and the Devil' from his new album "I'm New Here"

http://gilscottheron.net/

Untethered

'It's Raining In Love'

I don't know what it is,
but I distrust myself
when I start to like a girl
a lot.

It makes me nervous.

I don’t say the right things
or perhaps I start
to examine,
evaluate,
compute
what I am saying.

If I say, "Do you think it's going to rain?"

and she says, "I don’t know,"
I start thinking: Does she really like me?

In other words

I get a little creepy.

A friend of mine once said,

"It's twenty times better to be friends

with someone

than it is to be in love with them."

I think he's right and besides,

it's raining somewhere, programming flowers
and keeping snails happy.
That's all taken care of.

BUT

if a girl likes me a lot
and starts getting real nervous
and suddenly begins asking me funny questions
and looks sad if I give the wrong answers
and she says things like,
"Do you think it's going to rain?"
and I say, "It beats me,"
and she says, "Oh,"
and looks a little sad

at the clear blue California sky

I think: Thank God, it's you, baby, this time
instead of me.

Richard Brautigan

Exo

Ayala Serfaty was born in Tel Aviv in 1962 and studied Fine Art in the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. She was the recipient of the America- Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship to Middlesex Polytechnic in England where she concluded her BFA. Over time her style and interests became more rooted in design practice and in 1994 Ayala founded 'Aqua Creations' with her photographer husband Albi Serfaty. 'Aqua Creations' was founded with the aim of creating lighting and furniture that melded advanced technology with organic design.

Libidinous

http://www.galtmacdermot.com/

Unforgettable Part 2: Sojourner Truth

The woman who eventually became Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Baumfree. One of 13 children, she was born in 1797 on the Colonel Johannes Hardenbergh estate. Her parents Elizabeth and James Baumfree were slaves on the estate in Swartekill which was a Dutch settlement in upstate New York. Isabella spoke only Dutch until she was sold from her family around the age of nine. She was sold along with a herd of sheep to John Neely for $100. Neely's family only spoke English and beat Isabella constantly for frequent miscommunication. It was during this time that she found refuge in religion and started to pray aloud when she was scared or hurt. Over the next few years she was sold a number of times and endured horrific treatment at the hands of her owners.