Well Knit Me!

Industrious hip mothers unite. Put those (knitting) needles in your backpack and grab a hip slogan... KnittaPlease is a collective of ladies (and a gentleman) using half finished knitting projects to warm, and beautify, the world. Forget spraypaint, take a hint, and knit some foliage a bush warmer.

Style Icon of The Day

Joan Didion.. Playwrite, Writer.. Sexy Lady!

Three Amigos Go Wild

Bush, Vicente and Harper go to Cancun... It's actually not a joke. Though it was funny.

In a two day summit to discuss immigration (Bush and Vicente) and NAFTA (Bush and Harper), I've seen Harper in one, plain, greyish suit..ish.. thing. Vicente, scallywag that he is, wore a great loose white shirt and a snazy hat, Bush followed close second, trying to emmulate the cool look with a skin tight white shirt, looking a little pink, somewhat like a German in Thailand. Harper? Harper walks the beach in a suit, stuffy and.. grey. Literally, he doesn't get pink or flushed or tanned.. he looks grey. Like dirty slush. But not as exciting.

Bush and Vicente are talking over the bill that will give 10 million illegal aliens (the new un-pc 4 letter word) legal status.. as long as they don't get any advantages over those who entered the US legally. Um.. like legal status despite entering illegally?? Wouldn't that kind of be, I don't know.. an advantage? If you get the same ends no matter which way you get there, in the trunk of a car or economy flights, which are basically the same, then why wouldn't you save the money and indigestion on plane food and make a run for the Minute Men?

On the Northern border (that would be us) they're not so much concerned about Canadians making a run for the American Dream (I think we have better apple pie here anyways) but more about the forest closing in. And not in a Hamlet way. Our softwood lumber is creating a beaver dam at the border, piling up and rotting away because it's too cheap for the Americans. NAFTA says they have to let the lumber in, Bush says... Get a better suit?

Do you think Snoop Dogg will make a video of this?

Spring Is Coming! --- Evidence Below

Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic

So Chief of Staff Andrew Card has resigned from the White House, after 5 years of (and I quote) working 6 in the morning until 8 at night. Of course, there is speculation that this is an attempt to placate the Democrats, though nobody seems to realise he's resigning, not being fired, and that working for 5 years straight at that pace may just be burnout, not a political chess move. (Please, please, note the hint of sarcasm in my voice concerning the working hours. All those who work two jobs and would LOVE to have those hours..raise your hand.) I'm sure Andrew Card leaving will satisfy the bloodlust - trading Card for Rove is like trading a hot dog for prime rib. And who are they bringing in? Why, Josh Bolten, the budget director! Nothing like moving from being an expert on the economy to managing the White House. I think the water is around our ankles...

One More Dolce Cinnamon Latte

And then I don't feel so bad...

Stella Poshlust's Favorite Things.. For March!

-Baked Brie - Served with some cold cranberry sauce and a glass of wine, this is the ultimate afternoon snack.
-Steinbeck's "Travels With Charley" - I read this out loud to Bryan, and everytime I read it, it seems more and more poignant, bang on - for the time it was written it's interestingly accurate.
-Starbucks Dolce Cinnamon Latte - I think I may have drank one a day for the past week. Its like a slice of cake in a coffee.
-Fellini's "8 1/2" - Strange, touching, beautiful, and Barbara Steele really rings my bell. I watched it so many times that when I finally got up, I was surprised to look in the mirror and see myself.. in colour.
-Dr. Bromners Almond Wash - 18 in 1 uses, ranging from body wash to clothing detergent to shampoo to dish soap. It smells so good, I feel like a little Italian almond candy, all dipped in sugar.
-The color yellow - Canary, Banana, Cream Pie.. give it all to me!
-White collared shirts
-Tulips - Any color, they're just the most beautiful things in the springtime. And any plant that was used like gold to barter and invest in... is ok with me.
-Eggs Benedict - My favorite on Sunday's after church, there is something about eggs benedict and white wine makes me feel like a million bucks

Art o' the Day

Jean Michel Basquiat
1984
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas

Slurp!

Bryan and I found the new venture by the Culina team - Soul Soup. Carla Alexander, soup master extraordinaire, has a little place (little, though not lacking any punch or finesse on the inside.. so so hip) on Rice Howard Way. All purple and mahogany wood, we walked in and were surrounded by this ethereal mist of garlic and potato and barley and rice and all these other fantastic aromas. It was so thick.. you almost don't need to ACTUALLY buy any soup - you could survive on sniffs alone. But buy the soup we did, and for 13$ we got a huge litre (or so) tub, two bread rolls, two suckers, and two portugese custard tarts. We decided (after a taste test) to go with the Potato/Veggie/Leek/Roasted Garlic veggie option. They had three listed - a fish, a meat, and veggie - to appease everyone. On the frozen soup menu they even had some celiac friendly soups - what a dream! The soup was creamy and filling and so full of flavour, and even though it was about minus ten we walked all the way from Rice Howard Way home, and the soup was still piping hot. I couldn't finish my portion, and Bryan gladly made sure to clean out both bowls - still leaving enough to give to our neighbor for her to lunch on. They have some really amazing soups listed on their Frozen Soup menu, I really want to try the Spinach Goats Cheese Cream with Orange and Almonds. Perfect for the semi-spring weather - or any weather for that matter. Check it out, you won't be dissapointed.

Friday Night Lite

Had a really amazing evening at the Powerplant with Ian, Steph and Bryan. We went to see Jason Collett, and really enjoyed the first two bands, Paso Mino and Storyboard. Powerplant now has Red Stripe.. yay.. so Bryan and I had a few of those, and really enjoyed ourselves, it was fantastic. We met really amazing people, this super awesome Nigerian couple who taught us all about dowries, and an occupational therapist who drank Baileys. It was really relaxed and fun.. it was nice to dance with Bryan and chat and meet new people. I forget how wonderful it is to have him around, I think you block that from your mind so you don't miss them as much.. but Friday it was.. perfect.

First Cold

It's the feeling of
water so hot, it feels
first cold
up my spine and
making my heart
clench.
I think my throat closes
anticipating the flood
of tears
breaking levies of
valves swelling
and arteries.
Water so hot, it feels
first cold
flooding in my blood
stream - ing
clenching
curling muscles, constricting forcing
cauterized tear ducts
empty with water and anger
so hot, it feels
first cold.

He and Me

Bryan, my brother and I went to Humo and spent the evening there smoking Montecristo's and drinking Art's amazing coffee. I'm not entirely sure how we ended up spending 2 and a half hours there, it seemed like time just.. went up in smoke. Everyone drifted in and out, playing chess and drinking coffee. The cigar smoke gets in your clothes and your brain, and sometimes I swear that I have that perfectly dove grey mist swirling in my brain. It changes how you look at things, through this haze of pale grey Cuban smoke. It makes your heart slow down and your movements slow, your particles stretch out. It was.. perfect.

Bryan's Favorite..

Bagels with cheddar and tomatos. It really is the be all and end all - hot bagel, old cheddar and cold tomatos. *sigh*

Zapatista Fashionista

Bryan brought me an amazing keffiyah - I might not look like Leila Khaled, but I think I look pretty swish. I love it. I mentioned it once, like, weeks ago how neat they were - and he brought me one when he got here. *smile* So, I can show my PLO sympathies... Or maybe just my love of Lawrence of Arabia.

Ancient Art o' the Day

This is pretty neat - they've discovered a sarcophagus in Cyprus with drawings from Homer's Oddessy and Illiad. I wonder what I'd have in my tomb? Warrior - depictions of the Oddessy. Andrea? Hmmm.. Maybe a really nice menu.

72 Days Until Hurrican Season, and Ray Nagin Can't Swallow His Chocolate Drink

Poor Nagin. He had to sit in a community meeting and explain to an entire ward that yeah, he would love them to return to New Orleans. Unfortunately, the predominately poor black neighborhoods would have to make do sans 911 service, garbage pick up and sewer service. So build wherever you want on that flood plane. Just don't expect Ray Nagin to come by with his chocolate drink - because it's looking a lot like milk lately.

Art 'o the Day

Elaine De Kooning - Oil on masonite

Maybe We Need Blue Ink and Thumbs

Now, last time Saddam was elected with a 100% majority and only 3 % of the people voted, there were murmers. Wouldn't it stand with only a very minimal ammount of the student body voting that there might be some eyebrows raised at giving our student council a $27,000 per salary? Yet, I see no eyebrows raised, I see only a plethora of ineffectual, ridiculous posters papering the halls of our mediocre institution of learning, littering the ground outside, more likely to provide fuel for a homeless person than fuel for discourse in the school.

These posters tell me nothing. "Set up MacEwan Chat"?? Obviously it's needed, considering the poster for this candidate offers no other campaign information or even an explanation of the ones he's offering. I've not seen any of these candidates in the hallways, none trying to meet the students - in all honesty, I'm reduced to voting (because then I can complain) on a purely aesthetic motive - Jamie Tauber wins for her original and artsy posters. The campaign speeches were mediocre and tepid, uninspired, and frankly dissapointing for students that will be getting $27,000 dollars a year and 4 free courses. I'd like to see some actual campaigning! Bring me muffins, flyers, talk to me, damn it, I demand that you skip your classes and stand in the hallway and talk to me.

And what exactly have I recieved from this years elected officials? Nothing. I mean, honestly? I paid this student activity fee.. but what EXACTLY have I got? Well.. nothing. The big party at the beginning of the year was put off to build an expensive crappy cafeteria with painfully slow service that I don't use, and the end of the year party was put off because, well, our current student life rep couldn't find a band. What about the hundreds of bands WITHIN THE SCHOOL that would probably love to play to a big audience? What exactly will my student activity fee be used for?

Or were the old reps only paid $25,000 last year? And they found some extra money?

I'm sick of sitting in my poli-sci class, hearing about democracy left right and centre, hearing students complain about an ineffectual provincial and national government - and our student government, the future - can't even mount an effective enough campaign to get our voter turn out to remotely rival that of pre-war Iraq.

Awesome in the Key of A

Check this out - www.pandora.com - You type in one of your favorite songs or artists, and it automatically creates a playlist (a creepily accurate and amazing playlist) of other songs that you'll like. They're automatically saved under the song or artist that you originally typed in, so if you feel like listening to something in the key of "Talk Show Host" or rather "Jack Johnson" - just click away. It's painfully easy, no downloading, no login etc etc. Thanks to my amazing Bryan for this hip tip o' the day.

*sigh*

You'll forgive me for my lack of blogging, I'm a sated, happy and finally drinking good coffee- you know, the kind minus the chunks of coffee beans and doesn't take the enamel off your teeth? Yeah, that kind. Bryan's here! He got here on Saturday afternoon, and I've been in a (mildly sickening) state of perpetual bliss. We went out to dinner with Laura on Saturday evening for a fantastic dinner at Cafe Mosaics. There's something about that place akin to sitting in a friends kitchen.. a friend who can cook. (Maybe I'm imagining it because I really don't have any friends who cook..Hmm.. ) But it was really tasty, and chatting with Laura and Bryan is like, the third circle of happiness for me. We went to church on Sunday morning, braving the incredible snow that's blanketed.. nay, entombed, Edmonton, and followed with really amazing eggs benedict at the High Level Diner. (*insert blissful sound here*) PLUS.. a little shoe shopping. Kill me now, it can't get better. Bryan's here for the next 7 days, so you'll have to put up with this just a little longer. *smile*

St. Patrick's Day?...

Or Hamas rally?

I Heart Barbara Steele.. *sigh*

I just watched her in Fellini's "8 1/2" and even though she's only got a small part, she's so great. Other than this she's like, a scream queen in thrillers. Funny.

WTF?!

It now smells like somebody is frying a piece of rubber tire. Exactly what culinary skills do these people possess? Or not?

Quote of the Day

In relation to our artist Lee Krasner below...

"This is so good, you would not know it was painted by a woman."
-Hans Hoffman, 1937, about student Lee Krasner

Art o' the Day

I love these paintings. I saw Lee Krasner's "The Springs" in D.C., and was taken in by the incredibly beauty and calmness of her work. Though originally I confused it with a Pollock, the amazing lull that it put me into is indicative of Lee Krasner - not the frenetic, breathless feeling I get when looking at a Pollock. (This one I also saw in D.C.) I always wonder, them being husband and wife.. if that's what she did for him? If her paintings are as much of a counterbalance to his.. as she was to him?
Lee Krasner - The Springs, Oil, 1964
Jackson Pollock - Lavender Mist, enamels - 1954

Morning Glory..

My beautiful daffodils opened! Such a nice thing to wake up to..

12:03

It's midnight, and I've awoken to the overpowering smell of somebody cooking...nay, burning, some sort of fish. I'm going to die, I hate living in dorms. Kill me now, and the fish person.

Arts o' The Day

Tamara De Lempicka- Girl in a Green Dress, 1930
Henri Matisse- Girl in a Green Dress - 1921

Canadians Don't Sue! (Unless it's Over Tim Hortons.)

Iconic as the maple leaf, and just a little sweeter, Canada's national doughnut chain "Tim Hortons"
(which offers us the most Canadian food we have, the Maple Dip) is at the centre of a little.. squabble. The annual "Roll up the Rim to Win" contest has garnered some younger winners, two garbage picking 10 and 12 year old girls who've won a RAV4. The 10 year old girl found the cup (with no rolled rim) in a garbage can, unable to roll it up, she asked her 12 year old friend for help. The two discovered they had won the car, and went to the school for to have their parents called. The 10 year old girl's father said he was intending to sell the car, and would give a portion of the money to the 12 year old girls family. Now the 12 year old's family is getting litigious, and looking to sue, and the teacher is damanding the cup was his. I say it goes to the 12 year old. If you're too dumb to roll up the rim (the teacher) and too weak to roll it up (the 10 year old) then I say the 12 year old gets it. Kudos to her, obviously the stronger one, for not knocking the wimpy one out and runnin' off with the cup. Note to self - watch the garbage picking youth while in possesion of possibly winning cup.

Those Crazy Goldbergs...

This story was pointed out by my hilarious and witty boyfriend... As he said, perhaps the Y2K nuts recieved influence from a much more ancient source. Hmmm.. kosher sheep lungs.. the original gas mask?

Art o' the Day

"Ballerina" by Hans Arp

The End of the Affair

Akin to a righteous girlfriend, Dubai Ports World has waltzed out of the apartment with the big screen T.V. AND the love of the mother in law. The United States, on the other hand, is getting drunk with Congress and talking about how "They never really liked her anyways."

Sure they thought it would work, because really, they didn't CARE what all their friends thought, as long as they were happy, it didn't matter. And social mores be damned. So she was in bed with Isreal(is) a year ago, that didn't mean anything! She didn't even think they were a real man (country) anyways!

But it did matter, and their friends objected and she left, with her nose held high. She was just using him anyways.. he had a great apartment, and security was so lax...

On Repeat..

Went to see "Dave Chappell's Block Party" with Ian last week - really great. Don't go if you're a Dave Chappell fan, because he's only on screen for like, maybe 1/2 an hour. It centers around a block party that he throws in Brooklyn - go if you're a Roots, Dead Prez, Common, Mos Def, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu or Fugees (yup.. THE Fugees) fan. It's like a big concert - it's great. All the people that I want to see, or have seen, were on there, and it was fantastic. So I've had a hip-hop playlist running since we saw it - old favorites mostly. Check it out!

1. Fear Not of Man - Most Def
2. I Am Music - Common feat. Jill Scott
3. New World Water - Mos Def
4. The Seed (2.0) - The Roots
5. Jimi Was a Rock Star - Common feat. Erykah Badu
6. Diamond From Sierra Leone - Kanye West
7. Rock n' Roll - Mos Def
8. Lucifer - Jay-Z feat. Kanye West
9. Bigger Than Hip Hop - Dead Prez
10. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (spoken word) - Gil Scott Heron
11. Just to Get By - Talib Kweli
12. Woo - Erykah Badu
13. Bedda at Home - Jill Scott
14. Lonely People - Talib Kweli
15. Forgive them Father - Lauryn Hill
16. Pocketbook - Me'Shell Ndegeocello
17. No Woman No Cry - The Fugees
    

I Heart J.C.!

Hey All - Remember Jason Collett is at the PowerPlant on the 24th - it's only 10$ and it's going to be a lovely show. Bring somebody you love. *smile*

In Shape? What Shape?

So I'm stubbornly trying to get myself in shape - any shape, other than the one I'm in. I've actually been to the gym every day this week.. and thanks to my young and moldable (not moldy) body, I'm seeing a difference. Given, it might be hallucinations from the ammount of testosterone in the gym, but even if it is.. that's ok too. It keeps me going there, thinking there might actually be a difference in my somewhat.. um.. "soft" body. The guys there are hilarious, my run goes by quickly whether I'm reading "Heart of Darkness" or watching it. All the grunting and posturing and swaggering...it's hilarious. And for a bunch of guys, they sure do stare at themselves in the mirror- that doesn't give me motivation. Sure it makes me want to run, but basically it makes me want to run as far away from any mirrors as I can, doesn't make me smile and flex my Looney Toon muscles in the mirror. I also like watching all the old and disabled and plump in the water aerobics. This tiny super fit girl stands on the edge of the pool and does all the impossible excerises so quickly while these people just look like peas in a full fat soup bobbing around trying to keep their heads above water. They look like incredibly ruebenesque (Hmm... is that where the fatty rueben sandwhich comes from?) statues in a fountain, spurting water and flailing in impossible yet cherubic positions. Then again, my brother says I look like a demented road runner on the treadmill, so I guess I don't really have to much to poke fun about. Huh.

Kant-larious. Maybe.

Laura and I are compiling a list of Kant-ish words... The best ones?

-Kantplicated
-Kantscious
-Kantagory
-Kantstipated
-Kantinued....

Art o' the Day

The artist of the day is Kathe Kollwitz. Growing up in Germany in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, she was heavily impacted by the works of Zola, and her pieces reflected the incredible poverty and social injustice of the political system and country. She was the first woman to be accepted to the Prussian Acedemy, and subsequently expelled for her ideas and art, which, after the Nazi's bombed her home, they labelled "degenerate". If you can find them, check out "The Weavers Revolution" lithograph series- or for that matter, any of her work. This is a self portrait, lithograph, circa 1900.

Quote of the Day

" When Chuck Norris jumps in the ocean, he doesn't get wet. The ocean gets Chuck Norrised."

- Quoted to me by S.S.

Quote of the Day

"Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one."

-A.J. Liebling

Artist of the Day

I couldn't find just one Frida Kahlo painting that I could put up here.. so instead, here is a picture of her and her on again off again husband, Diego Rivera. Look her up, check out her paintings.

No Blues!

Ian, Steph, Curtis and my brother and I went out to Blues on Whyte on Friday night, and had a blast. I have to say, that place never fails to offer a good time. It's like every biker, mother, hippie and everyone else who doesn't fit in anywhere else.. ends up there, and by default, they all fit in. It was so much fun. The music was phenomenal, as usual, and Steph and Ian and I danced (the boys were too busy with the waitress and their scotch and waters, in that order), and we all drank the really cheap, really cold beer. Which invariably makes it better.

Pages from My Book

Sketches from my travel Moleskin. I've been so preoccupied with structure and skin and bones..

Quote of the Day

"The master of the monstrous...
the discoverer of the unconscious. "

- Carl Gustav Jung, on Hieronymus Bosch

Art o' the Day

"The Temptation of Saint Anthony" (Center Panel) Hieronymus Bosch, circa 1500. So you can see what Jung was talking about.

It's Just So Kantplicated

Philosophy seems to be all about the white space, the negative, the inside, what you can't see and don't say. That you define everything in shades and what its not instead of what it is. You outline everything so painfully, and when you look at it, it dissapears, you have to understand it out of the corner or your eyes and your brain without ever directly focusing on it. It's like a moral and metaphysical x-ray, with very fragile bones.

Cafe Voltaire

I've had a strange beautiful bass and slowness laden day. Went to class, and that part of my morning just slipped by.. went and met Laura at the paint store and pawed through art supplies and got lost in rows of paint and color and almost drown in moss green and plum pink and soft paintbrushes. I'm sure they don't appreciate it, but I end up brushing them against my face and eyelids as I wander about, touching. I even lick the watercolor pencils to see their exact color... Drifted to Laura's and drank tea like the rich with cold cream and sugar cubes and had lemonade in the sun while somebody smoked upstairs, but you can only smell it close to the window.. Painted the cats ears blue, I think she liked it.. Laid in the sun and read Descartes until my eyes started closing, watched Laura paint half sleeping, me and her I think.. Laid on the floor and painted with Laura, the same colors and yet a totally different painting, but still of a woman. Ian and Laura and Alejandro took me for Vietnamese food and we laughed and talked about babies and pregnancy and rabbits and me taking a bath in my sink with my feet in the toilet, because I have no bathtub...Ate the strangest food, shrimp in peaches and cream and scallops and peanuts. Came home and my brother took me to have coffee and smoke a cigar, talk and watch the old men play chess. I showered and now my skin smells like almonds and milk and cigars and roses. I'm listening to this beautiful music.. Ali Farka Toure... It's been an incredible and strange day.

Ms. P's Current Reading List

There's so much.. How did it happen that I have no time, ever?

Jane Austen - Persuasion
Kurt Vonnegut - Jailbird
Gore Vidal- Dreaming War
Joseph Conrad - Heard of Darkness
Kahlil Gibran - The Prophet
Leonard Cohen - Beautiful Losers
Bob Dylan - Chronicles
Salman Rushdie - Shalimar the Clown (yes... I STILL haven't read it)

On the upside, I did manage to read one book over reading week - "Travels with Charley" by John Steinbeck. I'll do a review sooner or later. Anything to keep from reading. *laugh*

Yo-Yo Column

I feel like my heart is snapping back and forth and up and down, its been stretched seven ways from Sunday and painted with chalk. I feel dry and tired and empty. I'm not going to give in to this. I'm determined that this is a byline only, not the article. I'm the article.

Art o' The Day

Mary Cassett - "Maternal"

He does

He kisses my wrists
And it feels like assisted suicide
He holds them gently, with
reverance,
Like religious artifacts or
popes hands
His lips curve about my
veins
Double boiling momentarily
The twice hot blood rushes
my eyes cloud,
My heart stops breathing.

Brrrrr!

It's so snowy, it's awfully funny.. I left D.C. and there were daffodils blooming, and the only thing blooming here are the big red spots on my cheeks from the cold! Spent this spectacular day at school, there were so few people because of all the snow - it was lovely. My own little snow day. Had tea at my place with Laura and talked art and politics and looked at our favorite artists online and discovered new ones.. Went to her place and looked at her new paintings.. She inspires me. Her knowledge and her library and her love makes me feel so.. good. I love being in her home, her presence, it calms me and makes me sane. Walked to the art store to pick up new charcoal, and they have this amazing 50% off sale on canvas. Fantastic. The cleaning kick has warn off somewhat, but I can't stop, because everything is in a psuedo state of organization, but not all the way yet. *laughing* Have a million projects on my mind. Does anyone have a really good recipe for Pad Thai? I'm dedicated to learning a good one. Hope everyone is warm, stay out of the snow, bundle up in bed with a cup of tea. Take care!