Progress
ATTIRE by Roberta Chang.
During the last few weeks of school, nothing has gotten to me more than this! I wondered if I’d ever go back to the days where drawing whenever I felt like it, whatever i felt like doing. This would be me, in a nutshell. I realize it stems from drawing these doodles all the back in the day with crayons. What I am still in search for is a consistent voice in my work.
Exploring Illustration
Here is a new website I visited:
http://www.sugarfrostedgoodness.com/
These sites will start to inspire me on exploring illustration on the web and commenting on its contents further on in my posts. This feels good for a routine exerise of researching, as well as inspiration. The interest started when my illustration teacher, Julie, encouraged us to look through a place called Illustration Friday over the reading week, and boy was I blown away! My inclination to surf through artist work has been a funny pattern of days and days of intense studying and months and months of putting off. I tend to think the reason is because I can’t find a decent directory to go to when I search for stuff. To this day, Wikipedia is probably one of the better sources, and then maybe a list of names my former teacher provided me.
This is a picture taken from Sugar Frosted Goodness of Tate Modern. I’d like to give this technique a try. The method I’ll go by it is probably taking a picture of an architectural setting and developing it (or printing it), and pasting my drawing on top of it. I’m doubtful of how the result will be like, so the other way to produce it is to digitally render it on Photoshop.
Post-Olympics
That’s it! The reading week has passed, the Olympics are done… I really miss all the time I had for myself. The hardest part is to sit down in class knowing my break really rocked.
On the break, I took advantage of the free concerts that happened around the city. It was good to be exposed to so many Canadian artists and bands, and especially to the ones I already knew but never realized they were from Canada! Though I planned on going to every single gig, I actually only went to only one: Our Lady Peace @ the Ozone. New happenings I’ve been interested in because of these Olympic gatherings are Mother Mother, Mariana’s Trench, Ryan Dahle, Hey Rosetta! and many many more. Hey, and Canada rocks, officially, with the new gold medal record! I watched the last Canada versus USA came at Steamworks.
I was watching Patrick Chan at his semi-finals on TV when my family and I started to contemplate on the nationality of a person and to what pride they belong to. We laughed, we questioned each other, and we all sort of knew what the other would say… even though at that moment I couldn’t feel good about any of the options. Basically, if I were an Olympic athlete, which country would I represent? Canada, China, or Taiwan? To my parents that have lived a little over half their life in Vancouver, they’ve already committed as Canadians and call this place home. If they were to represent, China would be first because of “economic and democratic” reasons. Something about letting China have their time to shine while they move up the ladder. If the Chinese team sucked and needed as much talent as possible, they would consider giving a ‘helping hand’.
However I think China has already been on fire lately. To a place like Canada, the majority of this place is top-notch, and First World, and satisfied. To win a gold medal here is pride but most of all for self-worth. To win it there, is flying home, getting free cars and homes and other privileges, and being an extreme national hero, and like.. no questions asked. Just shining like gold.
To me, I couldn’t really say. If it was about appreciation, I’d say Canada… but that doesn’t work as the only factor. This is the problem I face: I have very little clarity of how much pride I possess over the country that mothered me, or my bloodline country. It comments on my process of growth which largely consists of exploring culture, because I can’t help but want to define myself. I’ve been thinking that defining is tiring, and it can be very unnecessary when I strain myself with loads of questions that never truly will be answered. And what is a fact, what is a truth? Aren’t they all just suggestions made my other people that turned into the truth?
Mother Mother in Vancouver
Osphresiolagnia and Literature
Personal scents:
If you haven’t realized it yet, then let me tell you that smelling a girl’s room is positively delightful! From her closet to her pillows to her drawers, there’s a combination of aromas from things such as the laundry detergent, the skincare products, the body wash, the shampoo, and the perfumes. All of these things are very straightforward, manufactured smells. To include the human’s physical chemistry in the mixture provides the individualistic and absolute difference. This is what my friend and I have been obsessing over, which is sleeping over at each others’ house to immerse in this specific atmosphere. Other things I’ve realized? I can smell my bro’s sneeze.. which is gross.
Iparhan was a concubine to Emperor Qianlong during the 17th century. It is said that her body produced a natural, fragrant scent that captivated the emperor so much she was appointed to leave her Turkish homeland to Beijing. She washed herself in camel’s milk daily to preserve her mysterious aroma. No one is sure what her scent exactly was, but I imagine a warm, candied, oriental air for her.
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille
A nose that was so divine and so great that it was fatally dangerous, Grenouille is the fictional character in Patrick Suskind’s novel and movie, Perfume. I was entranced by the main character and his obsessive need for the perfect fragrance. At times, he was so corrupt it was amazing. If smells are an aesthetic, the idea of it beauty and insanity being one is full of passion and depth. Beauty can not be attained because it is only within the illusion – not the subject, and it is essentially a dream-state that we’ve created to adore. The might of this sensation is fearful and chilling.
Let the City Entertain You
Salutations, classmates
This week, I rushed over to 7-11 for my 2010 Games Transit Pass. I don’t know what had gotten into me, but I thought it was a money-saver. Actually, it’s just a little piece of plastic to the Vancouver citizen. The idea is a 6-week pass for visitors to Vancouver city during the games (Feb 8 – Mar 21). The price for their 1 Zone pass is $110, surprising me because two months worth of regular passes cost $146. Don’t be fooled, because we would still have to pay fares for the 7 days prior and the 10 days latter to the period it’s useful for. Thinking about it, transit is pretty stingy nowadays with this Olympic souvenir pass (which we can’t get), and the raised fare for travellers going to YVR (via Canada Line). This new pass is different from our regular bus passes, starting from its form made of plastic (a really nice credit card feel), the different designs on each zone, and the fold-up map included with the pass. It has a new version to the written terms of use on the back which is must clearer for the visitor. If you’re like me and the best part of buying a pass is scratching the zone out, you’d be pleased because it’s definitely included. Other than the nice quality to it, I have to return this before February 8th for a refund. Sad. 
Most of the Canada Line stops I go to now are lined up with Olympic or Olympic-funded ads. I still remember those days when the floors were stain-free and it was too new for me to realize the weird bathroom vibe I get now. New York subways are the same. Tiled with scummy plates of my grandma’s bathroom.
This week on TV shows:
[edited. Shelley is awesome]
1. The dear Dollhouse is leaving us very soon! Last Friday was breathtaking as we found out who was the evil mastermind behind Rossum and the Dollhouse. Watching the last moments definitely crept inside me a little as I felt compassion for the antagonist I shouldn’t be forgiving towards. But I believe people grow to who they are, and are not destined to be one way since birth. Therefore, evil people are not bad, they’re just pitiful. It was also left with some strings untied, giving us a look into the future with society in rubble. I miss Buffy now. And since I like Whedon shows so much, Firefly should be listed on my tv schedule waitlist.
2. Try Archer! It’s a new animated comedy series. Don’t be fooled – its blunt and smutty humour is not suggested for younger audiences. Archer is hilarious if you’re into dirty spies! I find the contrast of styles between the background and the characters refreshing. The back is a realistic rendering whereas the subjects are comical.
Take a look at the preview here:
If you like, try this pilot episode
Some of the characters have a similar resemblance to their voice-over personalities
Peering into the Magic Box
To be me is to obsess quite frequently over the same people, food, and TV shows… and today I’m just really into drama! Has anyone watched Sherlock Holmes yet? Funny, thrilling, but mostly cute. Line-ups are long at the Riverport IMAX theatre because of Avatar, and even ordering tickets online are difficult. I expect it to be playing a little while longer, so I’m in no rush to watch it yet. I’ve recently acknowledged my grand ranch of free-range television – particularly in American shows and Korean dramas. Trying to get out of this addiction is quite difficult because I owe it all for building my bilingualism! (True fact: I didn’t attend preschool. I watched Sailormoon and Power Rangers at home instead)
Try juggling these in your life:
Accidentally on Purpose, American’s Best Dance Crew, The Big Bang Theory, Bones, Burn Notice, Castle, Chuck, The Cleaner, The Closer, Dark Blue, Defying Gravity, Dexter, Dollhouse, Drop Dead Diva, FlashForward, Fringe, Glee, Gossip Girl, Harper’s Island, Hell’s Kitchen, House, How I Met Your Mother, Leverage, The Listener, Make It or Break It, Medium, Mental, Monk, Numb3rs, The Philanthropist, Reaper, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, So You Think You Can Dance, Supernatural, True Blood, Two and a Half Men, Vampire Diaries, Warehouse 13, and Weeds
… and this is just the American list! Scripted entertainment has been around for a long while. It excludes sports, news, reality, game shows, stand-up comedy, and variety shows. It’s the coming-to-life of story-telling!
What I’ve shot through this week so far:
Numb3rs – Crime Drama
Revolving around two brothers, one is a young math genius teaching at CalSci and the other is an outstanding FBI agent that leads his own team. What keeps me watching is the fun mathematical explanations the genius (Charlie) shares, and he uses equations to solve crimes in LA. So for example, did you know you have 1 in 576,000 odds of being hit by lightening, 1 in 880,00 odds of dating a supermodel, 1 in 3,000,000 odds of seeing a UFO, and actually 1 in 14,000,000 odds of winning the lottery? Go get that fashion model and save your money on the Scratch & Wins. Oh, and the Milkyway actually tastes like raspberries. Scientists found the chemical responsible for the flavour of raspberries the same as the particles surrounding a star.
My rating: 4/5. If you want to take your mind off what’s around you, the problem-solving in these episodes can be a little like brain food. The way this show can extend their time into revealing the intimate bonds and the emotional values within each person is what make the characters much more believable than other crime dramas.
Dollhouse – SciFi
I welcome back Joss Whedon! This is the guy behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. Fantastic! It’s too bad that this show is coming to an end, at just the second season. It’s the kind of show that fans of Whedon would like, but the majority wouldn’t get. Basically, the story is about technology at its best/worst. What if personalities could be imprinted into your memory? What if you could download karate kicks, French, or the tango into your brain? A covert organization recruits people, wipe their minds clean so they are in a “doll” state, and group them together underground in a spa-like facility. It doesn’t seem all that bad when you get healthy meals prepared, massage sessions daily, you have a yoga instructor, and a crib-like air-conditioned sleeping space.
My rating: 4/5. A rich person in high places buys you for a day, and you get imprinted to believe that you’re his wife (actually dead). According to your memories, you love this stranger, you love his baby you’re carrying (fake), and somehow you just remember you forgot your purse at the shopping centre (which you never went to). Or how about this: you get imprinted to love a man that repeatedly sexually abused you, drugged you, and claimed you were crazy. Then, he puts you into the Dollhouse and schedules you for dates regularly, and you don’t remember a thing every time. How creepy!
Medium – Supernatural/Mystery
My rating: 3.5/5. This is a procedural drama, which means a person doesn’t need to know about past episodes to get what the story is about. The main character’s psychic tendencies are what draws me in, and it does get intense given the fact that they do deal with murders and crimes. I like to watch the family grow, because they have three kids that remind me of Full House. A sigh of relief is usually how I like to end the show.
Chuck – Action Comedy
Imagine yourself working as a member of the Geek Squad in Best Buy, and suddenly you land a hotty who’s actually a spy working for the government that downloaded secret spy intelligence of the country into your brain, causing you to have a whole mission named after you, while keeping this hidden from the older sister you still live with. Meet Chuck Bartowski, an ordinary guy of the American society. This series focuses on the balance of romp-kicking karate action and goofy geek comedy. This is the show that ignited my overgrown passion of television dramas, so beware of intermittent cravings for computer guys or Aussie girls!
My rating: 4/5. This is a lightweight show. For a few laughs and a bit of special effects (although their budget has dropped significantly), expect explosions, combat fighting, and lots of gunpoint maneuvers. The best moments are when Chuck gets his panties in a bunch. Most people don’t know how to jump out of a 70-storey building, right?
Salutations from here!
Hello fellow classmates!
The first class back has already gotten me shaken up! Hopefully this new year is going to be a fun ride, especially because it’s Vancouver 2010. Now, if only we could get some bear hugs from Quatchi….
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