Twenty thirteen.

Happy New Years everyone! I hope the holidays have spoiled you all rotten - and were laden with family, friends and good food. And I hope, for everyone who made them, the new years resolutions are holding up!

The culmination of 2012 took place in Vancouver - my first new years in the city. As 2012 came to and end and 2013 began, the past year begged for some reflections. No large realizations, more... reaffirmations, I think - finding pathways to make myself a stronger, kinder individual - to succeed in what I put my mind to. Pretty standard Auld-Lang-Syne-type stuff.

Resolutions are a rather functional ideology - because they give us this conscious chance to see what we are, what we were and what we want to be. It doesn't necessarily change anything - it's just sort of an internal systems purge, dusting off foggy dreams and memories, maybe wiggling some things around. Sets everything straight again, if only for a little while.

Christmas was good - a long holiday this year, filled with dogs and gingerbread houses and mulled wine. I also got to work with the crew at Café Books over the holidays - which is always superbly prime. Snowshoeing with my folks was tons of fun - though we should have been out doing that more. I got to (finally) read my first John Green book, Looking for Alaska - (which was lovely, I wish I had read it a few years ago), re-read Tolkien's The Hobbit (which made me further rage about the film - which I have so many feels about I don't even know), and got into a volume of Greg Bear's short fiction (I also read a bunch of Kafka, but I don't want to talk about it).

My to-read list this year is monstrous, as is my to-see list. But I am a fan of lists, so this is probably okay. By September of this year, I am going to have two whole other short films shot, one completed, the other going into post. Really got to do that one chin up. Just the one (it's a process). Cooking more and baking more, that's going to be a combo of fun and tough I look forward to. And! Here's a large one - I've got to not wait around for things - there's my big new year's whatever. I can't wait around for occasions, people, miracles, opportunities. Waiting around is for chumps. Gotta go and get it - gotta go get that one chin up. Plus some other stuff.

Most of my education is over, and when it is, I'll be glad to be out. I've got barely a year and a half to make sure I know how to swim. Then it's out to sea with the lot of us.

The sea's a scary place, to be sure. But the second we stop fearing is the second we stop learning, creating and moving forward - and, to layer on the cheese, we stop living.

Life's all about the cheese.

All you poor souls going back to school this week (as one of you, I sympathize) - Have a good semester!

And thus ends my blog post filled with secrets in parenthesis.

Things to keep up with/check out/feast your eyes upon:

Keep up with Rheanna Toy's short film NINA, going into production sooon!

The Rain City Chronicles has a show coming up this month, and I really can't bail on it this time. Tickets are twelve bucks and it's at the Orpheum. There is no excuse to miss hanging out at the Orpheum.

I made a video, because I took my camera out for one day while I was on holidays, and I was going to do something with the footage (damn it).

Snowshoeing in the Bow Valley from Laurel K Brown on Vimeo.

The Rest of May

 May's finally coming to a close. I've been working border line full time, which makes for boring days and exhausted nights - but with this first month of summer almost past, I feel much better about the stretch of time that lies between now and August.

I haven't had much inspiration to sew, and even less to write films. I made myself a handy checklist at the end of April detailing all of the film exploits I wanted to complete by the time September rolled around. Three short films and a stop motion short. So far, we're at a smooth zero count. I have an idea or two rolling around up top, but nothing concrete seems to be able to make it's way out onto a page. I'm desperately hoping that June will bring a little more creative ebb and flow. I think once I move and assemble myself in my new (!) place of residence, new things will begin.

After two years of rather stagnant not-really adventures, I finally got out to Lighthouse Park up in West Vancouver. My first mistake was trying to get there on the precipice of the long weekend. The bus was packed and the traffic was horrendous. But eventually, I did get there. I spent the afternoon and was rather disappointed to find that Lighthouse Park is more the Stanely Park of North Vancouver, than anything. I could hear lawn mowers and screaming children no matter where I was in the park. Needless to say, my next adventure will have to be a little farther removed from the city. The only birds I saw were robins and black-capped chickadees. The flowers were few. It was nice to get out with my camera, but for my five hours there I only shot about 15 minutes and compiled the video below.

The end of May has come with this piqued sense of homesickness. Hauling out old DVDs of home movies to bring some warmth back into this basement. I watched this one I did for my Grandparents Christmas 2007 the other day, and thought I'd share the last 15 minutes or so. I hope you enjoy. Just a bit of self indulgence.

Thankfully, I might get to go home to Canmore for a week at the end of the summer. I'm really, really looking forward to it. It is rare I see my parents, rarer still to actually go home to them. I've been trying to come up with some sort of basis for a documentary about my family that I can start that week. I know I want to do it, but don't know what grounds to build the premise on. Laaaame!!

In other (good) news, I finally have a new place to live! As of yesterday, this adorable top floor of an old house that my friend and I had been after was granted to us. Our move in date is June 1st, but I will be moving shortly after (June 10th) with the aid of my parents who are coming out for four or five days to lend a hand.

Some things you need to check out!

My video blog, Kingfisher Says!

Choch on IndieGogo

The Long Road Home on IndieGogo

Dinner with Elvis on IndieGogo

Favorite thing of the week! Octopus!!

This video of this cheeky camera-stealing octopus is my favorite thing of the week!!


octopus steals my video camera and swims off with it (while it's Recording) from Victor Huang on Vimeo.


Awesome!

EDIT: oh my goodness. adorable. My SECOND favorite thing of the week.

A T-shirt War.

 Hi all, I've sort of decided to compound my numerous blogs into this blog. So I will be posting occasional internet-licious finds, book reviews, movie reviews and musings along with my usual felties and gardening. S'Awesome.

Here is A T-Shirt War!!


The T-Shirt War from Ibrahim Nergiz on Vimeo.

Found via Yay!Everyday.

Also, Happy March! Time for some madness. Or not.