More promotional photos for my friend, the great Canadian poet, Shane Koyczan.
as if your sense of humour was built on a faultline
Tag: friends
your whole body shakes when you laugh
Promotional photo for my friend, the great Canadian poet, Shane Koyczan.
a crow carrying pearls
“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances; if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” -Carl Jung
Once upon a time there was a girl who composed love letters inside her head as she was falling asleep, words in white against the darkness in her lids. She would lie and listen to his breathing, wondering what would be important later, wondering at the odds. In her hands, his, fingers laced, his death-grip a silent promise. She would kiss him goodnight, the angles of his body in the dark the same shape as the word home, while in the center of her body a garden of tightly wrapped desert flowers began to find purchase, patiently waiting for the right conditions to finally flourish into bloom.
I’ve been enjoying being more social lately. Jay came over earlier this week, as well as Joshua, Nadia, and Brian, and though I haven’t been spending as much time with Arron as I would like, we’ve been speaking every day, which is it’s own sort of treat, as it makes me warm to hear how I make him smile. It’s good to be rebuilding, seeing people who shake me out of habit, remind me that there is more to the world than looking for work.
Today I’m living off oranges, peeling them with chipped silver fingernails, satisfied to be curled up in bed with my laptop with no plans at all except for job hunting and a driving lesson later, though tomorrow I will venture outside. I will dress up my smile, put feathers in my hair, and walk over to The Prophouse Cafe, the highly eccentric coffee shop on Venebles across from Uprising Breads, and settle in for Shadow On The Land, a beautiful evening of music and enchantment, the listening party for Jess Hill‘s darling new album-to-be, Orchard. Mind of a Snail will be performing, too, with everything kicking off at 8 pm.
This week: stuffed with potential.
In an effort to prod myself out the door more often, I’ve started scouring the city for events again. The next trick will be to actually go to some of them. (Ex. I intended to hit up the PuSH opening gala last night, but spent time with A. then Lori instead. Fail? Not fail? Still social, though stayed in. Tough call.) That said, here’s some good ideas I’ve chalked in, but haven’t solidified yet. Who’s in?
Tuesday/today
7:00 + 9:30pm – Half Price Tuesday, The Green Hornet by Michel Gondry at The Rio. $6. (With A.)
7-9pm – PuSH: Boca Del Lupo‘s free La Marea, Gastown, zero-hundred block of Water Street.
Wednesday
8-11pm – Jack and Martin from Maria in the Shower, an intimate duo show at The Helm restaurant, 1180 Howe Street. (With Jess.) Company bailed, stayed in.
Thursday
12pm-6pm – PuSH: Iqaluit at the Woodward’s Atrium.
7-9pm – PuSH: Boca Del Lupo‘s free La Marea, Gastown, zero-hundred block of Water Street. (With Beth.) Went to Bin 942 after for delicious tapas and killer chocolate fondue. Holy hell, I had forgotten how completely magical a raspberry tastes. There are no words.
9:30-late – EXCISION (Dubstep Invasion Series) at Gossip, 750 Pacific Blvd. $25.
Friday
9-late – Isaac’s Freaks & 45’s Formal birthday party. (With Tony & ?.)
12am – City of the Lost Children midnight movie at the Rio, (subtitled). Admission is $8 or $7 in costume. Stayed at the party.
Saturday
8-12am – The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra with Jess Hill at Cafe Deux Soleils. $10-15 sliding scale at the door. (With Tony & ?.) (Sold out before we arrived).
8:30-12am – Stay Wet: An anti-celebration of the 82nd anniversary of the Dry Bill, featuring The Furniture, Blackberry Wood, Antiparty, and The Brass Action at The Railway Club.
9-12am – Karaoke at the Main St. Legion, 3917 Main Street. (Added to this list by request.)
10-2am – SinCity at Club 23 West. (With Tony & A.)
Sunday
2pm – PuSH: 46 Circus Acts in 45 Minutes, UBC Frederic Wood Theatre. 2pm. $12.50 General, $5 Kids under 12, $25 Family of 4 (max 2 adults). Box Office 604.822.2678 Went to brunch with Tony and A., then for hot chocolate at Cocoa Nymph.
3pm – Day for Night: Full Moon in Paris by Eric Rohmer at the Waldorf Cabaret.
people pictures from Robin’s house-party
adam & karyn
rafael & ria
tony & sarah
I just tried one of the chocolates. My breath stopped.
Today I came home in a bit of a mood, thwarted and unhappy in some very deep places, but what should arrive but a completely unexpected and flat out amazing package from Karen of Strange Horizons. Not a surprise in the usual sense, as she sent me a note about it yesterday, asking if I had received anything from her in the mail, expected due date somewhere the back of December, but because we sadly presumed it to be lost in transit. Yet, to whatever caused the delay, I can only thank it. There could be no better timing. She has an exquisite grace about her that I devoutly admire, mesmerizing even over long distances, and it bleeds into her gifts, which are so sweet and clever as to make me cry, two years now in a row. There’s nothing else like it in my life.
So though my morning may have started with an ache tightly, bitterly laced to my heart, since I’ve opened the cardboard box to discover it packed full of pretty, delicate paper and shiny hand-curled ribbons in my favourite colours and read her card, scented with sugar and lemon and love, I feel so grateful and vulnerable that if I were to leave the house, I would cover up my face. (Can’t go around blinding people, after all. Pretty sure that’s against the rules.)
It’s amazing to be reminded so perfectly that though I’m isolated, I’m not alone. Her gifts are witchcraft, sent to foster healing and prevent further harm. Medicine against sadness, (couture chocolates and gourmet mint cocoa), hello kitty for sprains, (a plush ice-pack), sticks and stones to ward off injury from same, (glowsticks and pop rocks), a sweet serum to bring blackbirds back to life, (sugar exfoliant), and one. last. winsome. package. wrapped in turquoise and gold that I am almost afraid to open, because what if my head falls off from awe? Stranger things have happened. Have I mentioned we’ve never met? Stranger things, indeed.
Cthulhupalooza II: Son of Cthulhupalooza
Second Level Wizards Awesome Events Society, a Vancouver not for profit society, is hosting their second H.P. Lovecraft-themed convention and film festival. Join us for a live performance by local Cthulhu rockers The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets with Scythia folk metal, short films from around the world, live burlesque performance by Little Miss Risk, the inaugural Miskatonic Middleschool Annual PTA Bake Sale, (Bake Sale proceeds to BC Children’s Hospital Foundation), and the world premiere of the ‘Thickets newest music video 20 Minutes of Oxygen.
What: Cthulhupalooza II Lovecraft Convention & Film Fest
When: Feb 19 2011. Media Welcome (Event Begins 7PM)
Where: Rickshaw Theatre 254 E Hastings St.
Details: Tickets are $15 at the door and online at secondlevelwizards.com.
Celebrate your enthusiasm for forbidden tomes, ancient space gods and eldritch cake by joining us on Feb 19. Prizes for the Miskatonic Middleschool Bake Sale competition are provided by our generous sponsors, entrants should contact us to register at info@secondlevelwizards.com and for rules and regulations. Roaring ’20′s period costume welcome. It’s tentacular!
Check online at www.cthulhupalooza.com and www.secondlevelwizards.com for more information on Cthulhupalooza II, registration, vendor tables and other details. Sponsored by Kerberos Productions.
mad skillz
Tony and I out on the mountain with Arron. Watch to the end for my double-take!
a day without dread is a day of victory
I’m out of practise with going outside. Almost everything I prepared to do on Thursday had to be put off until Friday because of Remembrance Day, unemployment having excised my awareness of such things as holiday hours. I lucked out, though, in feeling far better with the way things worked out than if my original schedule had fallen into place. I got out of the house, reconnected with a good friend, had a great time, and finished all my chores. Plus there was chocolate. Win.
Some other good news is that the Sell All My Stuff sale has been going well. Not galloping along, but steadily sauntering, which is enough to keep me content with the plan. In response, I’ve been doing my best to keep up with my listings, adding items in time with things sold, and sending things promptly to those out of town. (Not everyone has paid for what I’ve mailed them yet, but that’s to be expected, and I’m sure it will be fine.) I’ve also started moving the books I’m selling from my shelves to the hall. I’m finding that when involved in a project that involves thinning down my possessions, it’s really quite helpful to keep everything that’s for sale in one place. It gives a visual sense of the scale of what I’m doing, as well as allowing me to keep an accurate tally of what I’ve put up for sale versus what I’ve decided, for now, to keep. Also useful: when someone buys a book, I no longer have three places to check for the title.
We Never Talk Anymore
Lifted verbatim from David:
How is everybody doing?
(Comments are screened; I won’t post them unless you specifically say it’s cool.)