Universe says : 'Hai thur.'

October is coming in like a lamb, but will be a firecracker of excitement by the start of November..

I've completed my pattern planning for my long-planned giraffe I'm making for a friend's two year old cousin. I'm really excited about it! It's probably the largest scale thing I've done. I special ordered this delicious giraffe print minky fabric from the states - it's so, so soft! It's also going to have cream and brown felt embellishments. Should be fun! I just finished building a paper model of this giraffe. I like having it SUPER planned out before I start cutting fabric, especially when it's nice fabric. I think the legs and neck are going to be a little shorter and the head a little smaller, but it will look rather similar to this. I'm actually quite fond of this paper fellow that I have constructed. He sort of has a personality, don't you think?

I have talked to my film instructor about the film I proposed on paper on Monday. I was so nervous about this (the cappuccino I had right before I went in didn't help the anxiety so much). But it turns out, she liked the idea and said I was quite clear with my description. She gave me some great pointers on how to focus the purpose of the film a little more. It is going to be absolutely amazing! The shot list is due next week, I may post some 'teaser' storyboard panels if I feel like it. I've come up short on finding a kind of paint that adheres to film without flaking or being too opaque. It seems ink is my only option. I'll see what I can do with that! I shoot my film start of November. Then I get  to show it to the first audience I've had since high school. Should be.... nerve wracking.

Also happening next week: proficiency tests with film equipment, film midterm exam. My Aunt is coming into town on Thursday, which should be fun! We've got five VIFF films lined up, possible plans to go see The Guardians of Gahoole (seriously cannot get over how adorable those owls are), and on Saturday we're having my Gran and a friend over for a Thanksgiving superfeast. After my Aunt departs, then my Dad's coming to visit for a few days. While he's here, I hope to check out the Body Worlds exhibit at Science World, the Beaty Biodiversity Museum and also have him move my refrigerator for me.

One thing I've started doing is drawing onto old book pages. I have this copy of Doctor Zhivago that I bought for a dollar my first semester at University., read once, and truly, truly did not understand what it was about. It was a pretty haggard copy when I got it, and by the time I finished with it, it was basically falling apart. It's an edition from the 60's, so it's got a bit of that gorgeous brown tint around the edges of the pages. The pages have also become quite brittle. I did a set of botany drawings on them. They can be seen on my Deviantart (here, here and here) or on my Etsy! I'm quite proud of them. The pitcher plant is my favorite, inks wise. The ginkgo is my favorite colours wise. The orchid I'm not too fond of, I screwed up the perspective a bit and it turned out a little sloppy.

I went to see Let Me In (which I kept confusing with Never Let Me Go,  for some foolish reason) with a friend this evening. I wasn't entirely sure what it was about going in, which always makes for fun viewing. It is a remake of a Swedish film that I haven't seen (yet), it's about a fairly bizarre relationship between a young boy and a vampire who appears to be a 12 year old girl. Aside from the bizarre pacing of the film, it was creepy. It was a creepy relationship that had moments of innocent, adolescent cuteness, punctuated by lots and lots of blood. The whole film (plus the temperature of the theater) made me feel strangely cold. What was refreshing about it, however, was what a vampire actually was. I've been hearing way too much about this sparkly-man-Twilight nonsense. A cold, dark, slightly bloody film with an odd spark of  a relationship that endures a remarkable number of horrors.

I'm realizing, lately, my severe lack of horror movie knowledge. I mean, I have seen remarkably few. Maybe I'll turn this October into my horror month. Tell me things I need to watch!

Two things that go amazing together: Genetics readings and the Blade Runner soundtrack. So awesome!

Phrase I haven't heard in a while: nah nah nah nah boo boo.

Anyways, tomorrow is a big day of Aquarium, begging for a job, film lab, shopping, baking, furious cleaning and maybe a nap. Hope everyone has a great rest of their week!

What I'd really like to be doing right now. Via.

Things, more things, other things

Well, it's October now. September went poof, and I am listening to Christmas carols periodically THREE MONTHS early. No big deal, I've just fallen off my rocker.

Things that have happened in the past while: I've succumbed to student loans, joy of joys. I guess this will keep my mind off money for a little while. Job hunting's been a little difficult here, I've been told numerous times it's because of the economy, but because I don't understand the economy, I just take out my rage by swearing loudly at Craigslist. I think I've killed my ficus by repotting it. It just... dropped all of it's leaves and now it's this tremendously sad skeleton of a plant.  Two of my fish, Leonard and Androcles, turned a year old a couple weeks ago. One of my fish, Julian, died before he made it to a year (sad panda). Starbucks and I have developed a love/hate relationship.

On Wednesday, I had the most super day! I started at the Vancouver Aquarium - where I volunteer! I got to pick up a tortoise, which was all kinds of amazing! I sort of made up excuses to pick them up; like 'Oh, you're standing on a piece of lettuce I need to take out - I GUESS I'LL HAVE TO PICK YOU UP NOW!'. I also saw red tree frog eggs, which, turns out, are the most bizarre colour of seafoam green. I can't wait until they hatch and wee tadpoles emerge! Then I went to spend time in Victory Park downtown before class - soaking up the sun! I had a shifty fellow come up to me and ask me, 'got any weed, darlin'?' which makes me laugh because I look like the biggest square in town. I also had to shift my position every little while, because jerks kept sitting upwind from me and lighting up cigars or doobies. But generally, it was a magnificent couple of hours spent sitting on the grass. THEN I went to my film lab, which is always tremendous. The mysteries of 16mm film, exposure meters and the nature of all things film production are slowly unraveling before me! Anyways, on this particular lab day we were paired up and sent out into the city with a Bolex and a 100 foot roll of 16mm film to shoot whatever we please! We're always told that it's awesome we're shooting on such old cameras - in a digital age it's always a topic of conversation. We also had a weird lady come up to us and give us contraceptives - which was awkward, but Hastings has a weird sort of local colour that I love despite everything.

Favorite things of the week: 

Kunstformen der Natur by Ernst Haeckel

The images in this book are amazing. I have Stumbledupon it a couple of times and have just found it tremendously inspiring. I have always loved naturalist drawings - and these are top notch. Please have a look here for zoomable, gorgeous, full pages of the book. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

The new season of The Venture Brothers

Favorite television of the time being:

Breaking Bad and Star Trek: Next Generation. I can't seem to stop watching either of them.  Breaking Bad just breaks my heart. It's such a good show - so emotionally devastating! I feel like I need to either scream or cry into a pillow after watching a couple of episodes. I highly recommend it, two whom in particular, I don't know... but it's about a high school chemistry teacher who turns to cooking meth with a former student to make money so his family can sustain itself after he dies of terminal lung cancer. Yeah, it's an emotional well. Seeing Bryan Cranston NOT being the weird, whimsical dad on Malcom in the Middle is bizarre. I don't like it. But then again, I totally do. Just watch the show.

Via Fuck Yeah TNG

I seriously spent most of yesterday watching Next Generation. Now, this is the science fiction show that my mom always would watch, and I would always find outrageously boring as an eight year old. But the seeds of science fiction fandom were planted (well, in addition to the ritualistic watching of Star Wars on VHS every time I was home sick from school), and I got into Deep Space 9. And now, all things have lead to me watching Next Generation from the very beginning. It's very interesting to see everything in context, as opposed to random walk by's of "Whacha watchin'?" "Engage. Make it so. Those aren't muskets." "Oh. I'm going to go stare at a wall instead."

Favorite Artist of the day!

Shuichi Nakano! Supremely surreal gigantic animals gracing cityscapes! Check it out! I'm a big fan of the humungo fish in the sky!

Via Empty Kingdom

Via Empty Kingdom

Next thing I intend to bake: 

These absolutely amazing looking Rhubarb Oat Muffins from Shared Sugar!! I think I'll make a ton of them before my aunt comes to visit and freeze a bunch, so then my dad can also have some when he comes to visit! SO MANY VISITS.

Via Shared Sugar

Anyways, sorry for the lengthy/link heavy/photo heavy/video heavy post. It's late (early) and I probably should be going to bed (but will instead lie in bed playing gameboy for like... two hours instead). All of my VIFF tickets are purchased, including Cold Weather, The Ugly Duckling, Rubber, Armadillo and R. I was really hoping to see Feathered Cocaine, but it would seem all of the screenings have been canceled. I may try to pick up a screening or two if I have time. Maybe Cold Fish or Psychohydrography. WE SHALL SEE.

Via Fuck Yeah TNG

Hope everyone has a FUNtastic October!

PS. Check out this frigging huge pepper I picked up at the Main Street Vancouver Farmer's Market last week. It blew my damn mind. Then I cooked it into a curry.

PPS. My new, most favorite rhyme: WEIRD BEARD.