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Running around everywhere today! Interviews here, studio work there and – most fun of all because neenerneet! Organized historical records and museum settings are rad enough to have me daydreaming about all the quiet sitting I’ll be doing in them soon – setting up appointment with archivists when I’m in NYC this March. I did have time to list this purse (I decided not to keep it for myself after all) and get to work cutting interior pockets and closures for Sean’s laptop bag.
Whoa, who feels like shopping? Head down to James Street North tonight for the Art Crawl and go wild – even if you only buy a drink or a new pen, there’s plenty to see and do besides spending! Or, if you’re not lucky enough to be able to hit Hamilton this evening, here are some of my current faves on Etsy.
And finally, Lili Claspe‘s Taylor ring is too big for my fing(er), but maybe it will fit you? And I can come over and look at it? Think on it while enjoying your weekend! For Christmas this year, one of the gifts under the tree was a green three-ring binder. The gift tag said it was from Conrad Black.
Then I opened the cover and saw what was inside.
I’m pretty sure this little gem among my reporting experiences is part of what got me into Ryerson’s journalism program back in 2000. I seem to recall it had prominent play in my letter of intent, coming before both a co-op placement at the St. Thomas Times-Journal and various high school editorial positions. The story is this – when I was 11, I went wild for the Disney box office flop, Newsies. I loved it. I wanted to wear the scruffy hobo-kid clothing. I wanted to dance and sing in the streets. I wanted to live in New York City. Most of all though, I wanted to work at a newspaper (despite the fact that the newspaper is kind of the bad guy in this movie…though now that I think about it, it wasn’t the writers who were villainous – it was the publishers). Since I was pretty sure there were no local papers willing to take an 11-year-old intern, I went the DIY route, enlisting my indifferent brother as co-publisher and establishing a weekly Saturday paper for the house. The A&M Times was short-lived, as I decided early on that my brother lacked the requisite commitment. My Dad, on the other hand, seemed like a go-getter. Without missing an issue, I fired Mike (to this day, he remains indifferent. “The pay was awful anyway,” he tells me), replaced him with my Dad, and re-branded the paper.
- A streamlined horoscope that catered to the five astrological signs in my immediate family. It had a single short hiatus (owing largely to Friday night sleepovers) after which it resumed its regular publication schedule, complete with a special re-launch edition.
“Morning?” I’d ask. “This paper is being delivered in the morning! I have a deadline tonight!”And then I would procrastinate by drinking a pop or eating popcorn or watching TGIF, but I would eventually get around to it and the paper would be rolled and wrapped in plastic on the porch Saturday morning.
Indeed! This year, my sister found them at her house. She and my Dad photocopied them and put them together in this binder and I’m so glad they did. What have I learned since then? - How to organize my deadlines. All that aside though, do you think I should include some/any of these pieces in my portfolio from now on? They show initiative, no?
Working on a laptop bag for Sean. It’s made of my favourite brown leather – I think you know the type? Takes scratches well, absorbs them into its already distressed look? Thick, but supple (ew, typing that word just confirmed that I hate it). He has some specifications, including a divider to keep space between his computer and the rest of the bag. Also, a few custom pockets for his phone and other nerdalinger devices. So far I just have the main body, sides and interior pocket cut. Holes punched.
Can I take a moment to pat myself on the back? I realize that much of the slickness of this clip is entirely due to the incredible camera I used. I am also aware that I’m sporting crazy beginner surf skills here, but neither of these points diminish my love of the below video – my first full effort with the Go Pro Hero. Filmed last night on Lake Erie. This was an eleventh-hour trip to Dunnville at sunset. Please watch while cutting me some slack. I bought this board at the end of September and promptly took a two-month break due to Christmas. I’m by no means what you would call a “skilled surfer” but I’ll have you know I’ve ridden a wave to its natural end and, on three separate occasions, have executed a turn. Intentionally. Boo-ya. Also? I just love floundering around out there. If you’re wondering about the music, it’s a song called Wex and it’s by Olmer. His self-titled album has been my number one since 2005. It’s amazing. You can harass him for a copy here. If I could actually make a cuff this fast, I would be in factory-style business. For the below video, I set up a camera to take a shot every 60 seconds. Some of the steps are glossed over in a single frame, but I’m carving, then tooling, then cutting , then painting, then staining the background, then spraying with leather protector, then dying the edges, then smoothing them down with wax (this is the shot of me with the glove – an actual step rather than an homage to Michael Jackson), then punching holes and setting the snaps.
Later today, I’m excited to say there are waves on Erie. The first outing since Christmas, so here’s hoping I’ve retained what minimal skills I had in 2011. What may be exciting for this site is that I picked up the surfboard mount for the GoPro Hero over the weekend (you can see how amazing this little toy is here), so cross your fingers that I get up on enough waves to stitch together a video! First off, the only excuse I need to start scheduling regular massages – check out the Spec piece I wrote on recent findings at McMaster University. Next up, since this cuff sells faster than I can keep it in the shop, I did a third Newfoundland Pitcher Plant this afternoon. I’m happy with the way the bracelet itself turned out, but am most psyched for something I won’t be able to post until next week. I set up one of my cameras do a time-lapse recording of the process – carving, tooling, cutting, painting, staining, spraying, edging and attaching snaps. I’m going to edit them together into a video this weekend and post them early next week – hopefully Monday. Right now, just scanning through the pictures, flip-book-style, the results appear to be exactly what I was hoping for, so I can’t wait to combine them. In the meantime, here’s the finished product. Happy Friday!
I can barely type let alone swing a hammer today. I spent the morning at the doctor’s office (hooray – after five years of walk-in clinics, I finally have a family doctor in Hamilton!) having blood taken. I realize this is a thing that mostly only kids are scared of, but I’ve been stressed about it for days. I hate needles. I can’t watch them in movies, I don’t want to hear about them in stories and I certainly don’t want to be their recipient in real life. The thought of that slim metal tube sliding through my skin and punching a hole in a licorice whip of vein? Awwwwww I’m grossing myself out. I should be able to handle this. For someone who’s pretty physical (the cycling and the surfing and the running and the paddling and the camping and the climbing and the hunting and the on and on and on…), I have a really hard time accepting that my head is attached to anything. I can rarely consider all the organs and intricacies held together by my thin skin. I’m much more comfortable tricking myself into believing my body is made of plasticine – solid putty all the way through, like the skin from the Bio-Flesh Regenerator – or mist. Anywhoooooo, roundabout way of saying I’m so psychologically incapable of lifting my arm without imagining blood spewing forth from the hole in the crook of my elbow (BARF), I’m like a Victorian lady. I may have to spend the afternoon fainting on the couch. In the meantime, here are some hilarious links for you to check out. If you are a spandex-wearing road-racer, you will be offended by how hilarious this is. Or you’ll just think, “yeah, so?” and head out for a training ride. Oh, HWDSB. This city is so backwards, sometimes I feel like I’m one more building demolition away from moving to someplace like Montreal or Holland where they already have it figured out and I don’t have to keep banging my head against brick walls. Assuming there are any left in a decade. Reading Love it a Lot, I was introduced to this awesome Brady Bunch tune, which led to this Brady Bunch ad. Check back tomorrow – I’m being interviewed by some Mohawk grads for a mini-doc they’re doing on the arts in Hamilton. Ohhh la la! Because a full flower is too big for a little old ear. The Western Red Lily of Saskatchewan – a petal per lobe.
On a completely unrelated note, I just walked by Matt Dillon on John Street North where he’s filming some mafia movie at the Capri. NO BIGGIE, but since Bike Hounds came to this street, it’s basically become Hollywood. Side note – Beautiful Girls anyone? I have very little perspective on him as an actor because I think my overall opinion is clouded by my love of that movie and I am ooooooooook with this because that movie is awesome.
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