Roll With It

http://www.wartheband.com/home.html

Veritas

“Real friends are very special, but you have to be careful because sometimes you have a friend and you think they are made of rock; then suddenly you realise they're only made of sand.”

Maria Callas

Umbra

Juha Arvid Helminen is a Finnish photographer who has a keen eye for texture and unique tonal qualities. His work manages to be both beautiful and disconcerting. I'm particularly taken with his 'Black on Black' series which features a series of faceless, shadowy figures.

To see more of Helminens work go to:
http://immanuel.deviantart.com/

Others Promise Heaven

I find many things in the music of Amadou et Mariam: joy, sadness, humour and hope but there is something about their song 'Je pense a toi' that resonates with me. Such beautiful harmonization and melodies.

Je pense à toi, mon amour, ma bien aimée
(I think of you my love, my beloved)
Ne m’abandonne pas, mon amour, ma chérie
(Don't leave me, my love, my dear)

Quand je suis dans mon lit, je ne rêve qu’à toi
(When I'm in my bed I dream only of you)
Et quand je me réveille, je ne pense qu’à toi
(And when I wake, I think only of you)

Si je ne te vois pas, je ne peux rien dire
(If I don't see you, I can say nothing)
Je ne peux rien faire, je ne peux rien voir
(I can do nothing, I can see nothing)
Je ne veux rien savoir
(I don't want to know anything)
Mon amour, ma chérie
(My love, my dearest)

Certains t’ont promis la terre
(Some have promised you the earth)
D’autres promettent le ciel
(Others promise heaven)
Il y en a qui t’ont promis la lune
(Some have promised you the moon)
Et moi, je n’ai rien que ma pauvre guitare
(And me, I've nothing but my poor guitar)

http://www.amadou-mariam.com/

Abhaile

Market Place, Galway. Early 1900's

Feeling a tad homesick today, it being St Patricks Day and all. I love Canada but there are days where i miss the way things are done back home, not to mention the Irish sense of humour. The following are a tiny selection of images from the National Library of Ireland. Up to 34,000 historic images were made available to the public after the latest phase of a digitisation project.

Michael Collins. Circa 1914-1923

Children watching a Punch& Judy puppet show. Circa 1890-1910

The images include rural scenes, topographical scenes, candid street shots and historical figures such as Michael Collins, Eamon De Valera and Sean Heuston. Photographs have been sourced from various places including the Poole Whole Plate Collection, Keogh Collection and 76 images taken by medical student JJ Clarke showing Dubliners between 1897 and 1904.

Uileann Piper. Circa 1880-1914

Woman on O'Connell Street

Custom House Quay

To see more of the collection:

http://digital.nli.ie/cdm4/index_glassplates.php?CISOROOT=/glassplates


All Images: National Library of Ireland

Orbis Non Sufficit

"We’re living in a stylistic tropics. There’s a whole generation of people able to access almost anything from almost anywhere, and they don’t have the same localised stylistic sense that my generation grew up with. It’s all alive, all “now,” in an ever-expanding present, be it Hildegard of Bingen or a Bollywood soundtrack. The idea that something is uncool because it’s old or foreign has left the collective consciousness.”

Brian Eno 'The Death Of Uncool'

Image: Soul Ellis

Brain Food

In an ongoing effort to stimulate my remaining brain cells, i am constantly on the lookout for educational opportunities be it in everyday life or academically. However finances and time don't always allow for much of the academic side :)

I wanted to give you a heads up if you hadn't heard about the following. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are providing 1,900 courses for free on their website. They are offering materials used in almost all MIT courses including syllabuses, lecture notes, problem and answer sets, labs, readings and reading lists, videos and special features.

Subjects vary hugely and you can access everything from History, Comparative Media Studies, Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Media Arts & Sciences to Women's & Gender Studies amongst others. I'm in the midst of wading my way through 'Gender & Media Studies: Women and the Media', 'Human Rights in Theory & Practice' and 'The Supernatural in Music, Literature & Culture'.

A mind is a terrible thing to waste...

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm

Image of Neuron: Green Spine

You're So Cool

"I kept asking Clarence why our world seemed to be collapsing and things seemed to be getting so shitty. And he'd say, "that's the way it goes, but don't forget, it goes the other way too." That's the way romance is...usually, that's the way it goes, but every once in awhile, it goes the other way too "

Alabama from True Romance

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/