Video blog from Jasper

Some videos from my second day in Jasper, Alberta (November 25, 2009).

stop-motion stops my heart

Any stop-motion animation gets my heart fluttering and alights my urge to make Sculpey figurines all over again like I once did in my mother's craft-packed basement.

From the 1964 claymation Rudolph to Nick Park's Wallace & Gromit to Henry Selik's Nightmare Before Christmas...lest not forget his take on Neil Gaiman's Coraline! If it is possible to fall in love with the production of a film, I am guilty of such a feat.

I am struggling to contain my enthusiasm for Mr Fox and his Fantastical George-Clooney voice and fellow Anderson cast members to hit Canadian cinemas. Where will I be when it hits November 25? On the train to Winnipeg! I may have to drag my chum, Wisam, out for a matinee.

late night ponderings

Why am I increasingly drawn to wearing black items of clothing? Is this a sign of ...aging? mourning? lack of creativity? or increased creativity (it's standard in graphic design attire, apparently)?

Why do bloggers take weekends off? Do they not peruse the Internet or continue their ponderings on Saturdays and Sundays?

Why do art students always seem to be having more fun? Is it because their minds haven't been conformed to fit through the narrow funnel of academia? Do their programs relieve them of traditional academic institutions' right-versus-wrong, check-one-box-only, one-point-for-showing-your-work-but-two-points-for-the-correct-answer limited methods? Do I sound jaded by my university experience?

Why am I able to justify eating more than I need to simply by looking at my profile in the mirror while lifting my shirt and seeing how far I can still suck in my stomach? Is this morbid or are there others out there like me?

Why can't my windburned cheeks look more like lightly dusted rose petals and less like glossy baby buttocks?

Why can't Canada have the same film release dates as America all the time? Mr Fox is too Fantastic for me to wait a week longer than the Yanks. Guess I'll read the book in the meantime.

Good night.

moleskine envy

cuuuuuute. and clever. (thanks, poppytalk, for the fun.)

note to self

Make a book or journal using an old record album as the cover.
Source: Too Good to be Threw (Courtenay)

Thus must also learn how to bind books.

melancholy

i enjoy a song cover that surprises me into smiling. Lend your ear: it's MGMT a la banjo.

Thanks, Shane via Hype Machine.

awesomeness: book form

Dallas Clayton may be my new Maurice Sendak.

Ok, no. Lies. Delete delete delete.

Sendak cannot be replaced.

But there is definitely something special about Clayton and his Awesome Book. If I can achieve the same level of success through creativity and pleasure, then I will have reached one of the greatest aspirations of my life.

I think I am so suddenly captivated by this artist/father/philanthropist is that he makes his work available to the world without cost. You buy because you want a tangible copy in your own bedroom, to read to your child or, like me, if you don't have a child, keep out on your bedside table for inspiration and daily reminders to keep going after what my crazy mind is idealizing.

With ink and standard markers, his illustrations are beautiful, honest, raw, engaging and complex. You can question the rationale but why bother? His art reminds me of the kind of stuff I know I wish I was still doing, but have forgotten how to let myself be free enough to create. I stopped drawing and painting a long time ago, allowing other activities and self-imposed responsibilities take priority. Who would have thought it would be such a psychological challenge to let go?

i am inspired

Where does David Horvitz generate his thoughts? Is he influenced by his environment, by his friends? Where does he look when he wakes in the morning? What does he do after breakfast, and where does he go to clear his brain? Because I'd like to go there. To rummage through his leftovers.

a special rarity

Jocelyn Wagner knows it's a special rarity to be at home sick with her dad eating pancakes.

I made this my Facebook status this morning but quickly removed it. Why?

1) Less people knowing that myself and my father are ill the better (H1N1 rumours are moving faster than the 'disease' itself);

2) the statement involves a bit too much gloat, which I'd rather avoid;

3) posting stuff on Facebook is essentially like starting rumours about oneself - why do that to oneself?

Thus, after those reasons, is the purpose of having a personal blog. To express oneself to only those rare few who actually, possibly, follow my ramblings. I.e., my two and only sisters.

Now for pancakes!

When my dad makes a pancake, he takes the task literally. I don't mean the cake is made from scratch. I mean the cake is made to fit the entire pan. Here's how Papa makes the cakes:

Add water to President Choice pancake mix, whisk. Crack egg into pan, flip before yolk solidifies; remove. Pour entire batter into same pan over med-high heat; let bubbles form but no charcoal. Flip, wait a minute or so then return fried egg to top of pancake to "warm." Locate Grade No. 1 Light Maple Syrup (1 L container from Costco, no less) from fridge and sit at breakfast counter with single-cup black coffee to accompany. Consume.


Most times I pass on the offer to have a pancake with Dad. Those offers tend to come on weekends, his normal time to be home during the morning. But today is a Tuesday and he is home feeling ill. I too am home with similar symptoms though have no where else in this world I need to be (huzzah). So this is a special rarity to be at home with Dad, making pancakes.

I accepted the offer, but requested a smaller version. His attempt at 'small' was appreciated, though my portion ended up being just half the size of the pan. No complaints about this. Just a concern about the absorption rate of maple syrup: where the hell does it go so quickly? I poured on nearly 1/4 cup and I could barely taste it in my fluffy cake de pan after a few minutes. Oh well.

Can one ever have too much maple syrup?

Note to self: consume maple syrup during train trip.

omg

Coco Cupcakes strikes again! Brilliant and most likely delicious.
Can I have this cake simply because I am fascinated with the magic of Max and his honest wilderness?
Any excuse to eat cake!

can't ... fight ... the happiness!

Radio 1 Live Lounge

Beautiful cover.
The strings. Her voice. Lyrics so poignant.

He may not have looked a thing like Jesus but he talked - and listened - like a gentle soul. I will always know.

falling in love with a city

I get a kick out of Angela at we do the movies. Through her I found this vaguely poignant quote, stashed away in a beautiful little film, Paris, Je T'aime.

brilliance

From A Cup of Jo blog feed this morning:

After only 20 minutes in the air observing the New York skyline from a helicopter, London-born artist, Stephen Wiltshire, drew the entire view in accuracy and scale from memory. This isn't his first cityscape either. The brilliance of autism continues to awe.