25.11.08

Home Sweetest Home

A couple of posts back, it was suggested by a reader that I do a Thousand Flower Farm (my place of origin, a small organic farm nestled in one of the verdent evergreen forests that dot the Salish Sea) nostalgia post. I happen to have a small collection of old photos from the Island (most taken in the '70s and '80s, a bit before my time) stored up on my flickr, and though I've posted a few here before, I thought I'd take the time once and for all to give some of my favorites a proper showcase. I hope you like them as much as I do!















I've decided to let the pictures do the talking, but should you have any questions please leave them in the comments and I'll try hard to stay on top of things! Also, a few more of these, including slightly more recent shots, can be found here on my flickr :n )

22.11.08

Purple Sueeeede


It's so cold here, the kind of cold that freezes your face into a perma-grimace, complete with wind chapped lips and crystaline boogers. Remember when your mom told you "if you make that face long enough, it might stay that way"? She was talking about winter in New York, and she wasn't fucking kidding.


In the spirit of resenting the cold and having no money, I spent the day revelling in the beautiful new pair of shoes I received courtesy of the truly kind folks at solestruck.com (Seychelles Adios Amigo in purple suede, ya daaamn right!)


and lounging around in far too few clothes, pretending that spring is just around the corner, instead of several times around the block...

18.11.08

What's been keeping me?

Among the seemingly endless pages of essays I have to write and essays I have to read, what's been keeping me especially busy the last few weeks has been working on the formulation and filming of my very first Super8 film. Here are a few stills from the shooting, which is essentially done.


The Cowboy


The Cowgirl


Me and my Best Boy

Next comes crossing my fingers and hoping the lab does a decent job transferring my beautiful (at least the parts Ive seen, knock on wood!) film footage into craptacular digital footage so I can edit with ease, a process I anticipate taking over approximately 99.9% of my life juices until Christmas!

Photos from beneffervescent and the damn blue, the beautiful stars of the film!

13.11.08

6 (Un)important Things

A while ago, I was tagged by Left Hand Endeavor to make out a little list of little things that make me happy. Finally, in an especially depressing English II session yesterday I got down to writing it out. Here goes!

6 (Un)important things that make me happy (though I think their lack of importance is highly debatable!)

1) Wearing my boyfriend's clothes


His t-shirts are soft and well-worn, his sweaters are big and cozy and some are even cashmere! Since I can't actually come hang out under his desk all day at work (though there is plenty of room down there, I checked), this is essentially the next best thing. The shirt I'm wearing above used to be his.

2) Thinking about what people are doing in the beautiful, far away places I have visited



Yesterday I almost missed my stop on the train because I was daydreaming about life in Riomaggiore. How deep is the snow in Gimmelwald, high up in the Berner Oberland? Is anyone staying at the hostel? What about the farmers and their cows who live on the slopes above, or the little orange cat we met in front of an old hayloft? Bacharach, Röthenburg, Vernazza, Füssen, Stechelberg: I spent only a few days in these towns but I miss them and think about them often. I wish I could be in a million places at once!

3) Flowers


In my mind, there is nothing better to give or to receive than flowers. Growing up on Thousand Flower Farm, I used to help harvest and bundle them for market: dahlias, lilies, foxgloves, zinnias, delphiniums, sweet william, carnations, zulu daisies, crocosmia, cosmos and on and on. I wish I could afford to fill my apartment with cabbage roses and tuberose all the year round, but instead here in the city I am mostly limited to sidewalk stands and an occasional farmer's market splurge. Even so, nothing brightens my day like a $5.00 bunch of spray roses, yellow if it's snowing and pink in the summertime.


4) Smelling things


I love going into places that sell perfumes or lotions or potions or even shampoos and conditioner, and taking my time to investigate their various scents. Places like Fresh and Sephora are especially good for this, one of my many lifelong fall-back free activities, but pretty much any old grocery store or Rite Aid will do. I think this also ties partly into my constant search for a perfume that I like, one that can become my "signature" (that sounds so dumb, but I really want one!). I think most perfumes smell awful and fake and pants-suity. But I still get a kick out of smelling them!

5) Seeing old movies at Film Forum


It's been too long since I did this one! I love how small and personal the theatre feels. I love that almost everyone who goes there seems to genuinely love films and talking about them and thinking about them and being moved by them. And standing in line doesn't bother me because it's the best for classy people watching. I once saw the most amazing couple there, they looked like they stepped right out of a masterful collaboration between Jean-Luc Godard and Wes Anderson. They were both so pretty and nervous, and excited to see "Pierrot le Fou". During the film I sat next to an elderly gentleman who kept apologetically blowing his nose at all the worst times. And it was still great, and I can't wait to do it again.

6) Last but not Least:


This cat's tiny wee face.

5.11.08

I DON'T LIKE TO BRING UP POLITICS

That being said...


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Photo via Amsterdamize on flickr.

3.11.08

holga time!




Here are a few photos that Alex took on our trip upstate a few weeks ago with his Holga. Sometimes I feel like now that Polaroid seems to be slowly dying and being replaced with stuff like this, maybe it's time to turn to medium format cameras like the Holga and the Diana for photos with that special, imperfect, magical feel. I've been meaning to buy one for years.

Anyways, the lack of updates these days is mostly due to the countless tons of stress being shoveled upon me daily due to being in Production 1 this semester and beginning to actually shoot my first Super8 film (more on that later!) but stick with me kids! I'll be back in a jiffy.