The other day I came upon a newspaper, which consequently reminded me of two things . The first was that I miss acquiring one’s news from the tangible experience of sitting down and reading a newspaper. My second observation was made after I noticed how politically oriented the subject matter was towards the upcoming and much talked about May French elections.

After spending a large portion of my life in Canada, I had become subdued to the political presence of living in a participatory and apathetic country. Don’t get me wrong there are many things I adore about Oh Canada but one thing that has irked me is how we (myself included) sit back with our hands tied watching the sneaky actions of our current government. As I wrote that, I could not help but have flashes of the indoctrination scene in a Clockwork Orange, perhaps too dramtic to illustrate my point, but if I must go there I will.

And so I nestle comfortably in a land who dramatic politics put soap operas to shame.The drama of the preparations and results will be refreshing in comparison to the land of shutting down Parliament and naming your government after you.

Much is to come in general in the political scheme of things. With the American elections also on the roll. The concurrent beef between Israel and Iran and the fight for liberation in Syria and i’m sure that is just the icing on the cake of things we need to sort out.

It’s anyones game but it always seems to be on the precipe of thin ice, somehow, someway the men and women in suits sign here, here and there forgetting the causalities at hand.

So the other day, well yesterday to be exact, i lied in the anti-social depths of my apartment.

i have been on vacation from school since friday and have been lapping in the pools of luxury ever since.

i first began my vacation by wanting to stay within the warmths of my apartment but yet be social so i invited friends to socialize with. this plan was successful from friday to sunday. the other days  i literally just bummed around enjoying the nearly guilt free time i had been provided with.

i watched a plethora of films( happiness,secrets and lies, they live, royal tennebaums, fantastic mr.fox and we need to talk about kevin) plus some NFB documentaries.

all the while increasing my love and appreciation for the powers that be nutella.

i was feeling a bit restless and bad for not being social in a beautiful city. so i mustered the energy to drag myself out of my home and see what the city had to offer me. i packed my camera, a journal to write in and also a notebook for doodling. i was pretty much ready for anything the outdoor world had to offer me.

i took a left from my main door. and began walking a bit antsy by being unsure of my exact destination. although i have done this many times before i felt a sense of vulnerability and wanted to have some sort of structure but again i challenged myself to just keep going.

in the end i took photographs of a location i wanted to use for a shoot i did today

and also ended up (serendipitously) at a industrial design vernissage, i did a solo tour of the exhibition and made my way around to schmooze and having random and interesting conversations.

i must say since rewatching the royal tennebaums i could not help but be inspired by the mysteriousness of margot tennebaum. so i channeled my inner dysfunctional,secretive genius and left the place to return to my place to return to the depths of my little world.

i watched “we need to talk about kevin” then ended up starring outside my window relistening to Nico- these days on endless repeat. all the while attempting to maintain my breathing.

this vacation has been oh so necessary. time has even taken a little break itself,  allowing me to explore the depths of my mind. but i must admit that at times it can be a bit overwhelming or scary when faced with the realities you find within moments of introspection.

do we face our findings?

or put them aside and hope that they will fade?

time will tell.

it currently is a 23 metres squared studio and will be my space till the end of february. where i will then return to the possible nightmare, that can be parisian real estate. i have chosen to stick like glue to an optimistic perspective. imagining the type of space that will become my next urban cocoon of comfort. stay tuned on the visits and finds that await me.

im in a 85% percent vacation, which means that i have 15% of non-vacation, which then means that i should be more productive than i have been for the past couple of days. perhaps i should motivate myself by the comforts of the guilt-free laziness that awaits me after i cross the actions off of my to-do list..

i had a five hour lunch yesterday, which truthfully the walk there was the third action of my day, proceeding the necessities of grooming and waking up.

oh sundays.

my company was stellar and familial, literally.

i then proceeded to walk home with a slight fatigue, perhaps it came from the strenuous action of putting food from the plate to my mouth?

nonetheless, i allowed myself the sheer enjoyment that lies within the depths of

www.nfb.ca

my recent fascination has been within all that is and can be aboriginal canadian culture.

perhaps it stems from my  new found geographical distance, but i have had an arising appreciation towards oh canada and it’s vast beauties.

and consequently history plays a role, as it often so does in my new discoveries.

in my eyes, i feel a connection to the abused and erased customs found within aboriginal canadian culture.

their pure appreciation for the simplicities of nature and it’s merciless ways.

i think my distance from oh canada, has provided me with a new definition towards what constitutes my definition of canadian culture.

the roots going back to those who inherited the land before us.

Indians assembled at Shaqannapi Point for a pow-wow held in honour of the visit of H.R.H. the Duke of Cornwall and York, Calgary, Alberta, September 28, 1901.

i have a new found yearning to discover the unknown and most particularly the northern lands of canada, which is a bold interest based on my profound affinity towards the sun.

however, im willing to put this aside for the chance to witness an aurora borealis with my own eyes and ears.

im sure it will be a mind-blowing experience in all of it’s possible senses.

ok i think im going to do something,

perhaps clean or write about a recent visit i made to a glass showroom,

or maybe just eat some chocolate.

oh the possibilities are endless

i can’t help but to imagine this image and all the others from the collection recreated on an oversized tableau represented in a surrealist depiction.

SHOOTING GALLERY, 1936-2009

tootles.

===================================

TAKE  1

Aretha franklin currently soothes my sleepless mind,body and soul.

it’s currently 10:28am in paris. i just took a leisurely stroll back from school after spending more than a necessary amount of time there and also depriving myself of the apparently quintessential experience of sleep.

the left overs of last night were thrown across the narrow streets. broken glass, torn flowers and a fish’s tail…im curious to know it’s arrival of the fishs’ tail to the middle of the road.

the sun shone bright as my geriatric companions began their early morning activities. i went against the stream like a salmon in it’s fluid habitat. watching and passing many in their hurried pace as they attempted to make their morning rendez-vous. i was thrown a stare or two, probably rooted in their curiosity to know why i was not in such a rushed pace. i decided to indulge by taking walking, mostly due to the fact that i did not trust my sleepless mind behind the steering of a bicycle. i had no regrets,since the weather was  amiable for a january morning, think a prepubescent canadian winter. i even decided to take a longer route so i could bask in the early sun.

my anti-diurnal habits reminded me of my days of working for a video game company. my shifts would begin at 12am but thankfully would provide an hour leniency by starting at 1am.

we were zombies fueled by free and over sugared coffees, i was a big fan of the french vanillas. after logging off at around 8:00am i would take my beloved turquoise bicycle through the familiar streets of montreal. arriving from the old port to my plateau residence, which had the gem of having a roof top access to it’s possession. i would bake my mind and body in the summer sun as it was beginning to shows it’s radiant powers. i would then shuffle down the often sketchy ladder into my oversized bedroom and attempt to sleep.

i would at times even challenge myself by seeing how long i could not sleep for. something i do not recommend for all, but that experience has allowed me to live this current moment like a pro.

i do not remember what time i awoke yesterday, mostly due to the fact that it seems soo long ago. however im sure i’m clocking towards 23hours or close of pure lividness. and truth be told, i do not see myself sleeping any time in the near future. due to the fact that i am due back at school in 1hour and 20mins to be exact for an informal meeting before the big rendu, which in french means final presentation.

during my scholastic slumber party, i was overcome by waves of emotions. from frustration, to wanting to be left alone (which im sure my partner did not feel so warmed by), to wanting to be social, to excitement (which was fueled by the essentials of the wu-tang clan) and im sure a bevy of other emotions mixed in between.

i was amazed by the blue sky that evolved from the pitch darkness.i could not help but stare out of the 5th floor window into the start of a parisian morning. anthropomorphizing the clouds to what appeased my creativity at said moment.

i think this is the moment where i digress. ive written what i wanted to say but yet feels it all lacks a climax.

if you have made it this far, thanks for indulging in my rants.i m sure to provide you with more…..

===================================

TAKE 2

It’s currently 9:30,

and i have not left the waking states we last spoke/wrote…communicated.

and so it is my nuit blanche continues. all the things on my to-do list for the day have been struck off the list.

check, check and check.

i must admite i enjoy the theatrics of presentations, providing

appreciation for the art of improvisation.

and so it goes,

i think it’s interesting when one does not sleep within the 8hour a day period.

walls and perception are altered,

making me aware of the rituals placed

on states of living and dreaming.

the body must enter the unknown and intimate realms of ones reveries.

i verbed it and googled who holds the record for the

“longest time recorded not sleeping”;

and apparently my knowledge seeking friends,

the answer happens to be Mr. Randy Gardner

In 1964—as a 17-year-old high school student in San Diego, California—Gardner stayed awake for 264 hours (eleven days), breaking the previous record of 260 hours held by Tom Rounds of Honolulu.^[1]

^[1] (according to the accuracies of wikipedia),

ps: pretty sure homeboy is not 17 in this said pic.

i found this link related to my current and perhaps we can say not self-inflicted state of sleep deprivation?

http://sleepnosleep.wordpress.com/2010/06/29/historic-sleep-experiments/

if i may be frank, my attention span has not provided me with the opportunity

to read said article but im sure it holds an interest of two.

===================================

my personal experiences thus far of things that happen when you dont sleep;

• i caught myself dead in the act of having a delirious soliloquy of how Peanut M’M's represent the core functions of life, my debate has been lost within time, but i assure you it was valid.
• 
• i think french mayo might hold the title for best mayo,or at least out whip the miracles had with pure egg yolk mayonaise.

where is that delicious Dijon accent?

• today continued to shine with an unfamiliar brio for a january afternoon and im pretty sure i saw a butterfly quickly flutter past on the 5 th floor balcony. it was interesting to see the whole rise and fall of a day.
• im back to the pure listening pleasure of listening to TSF Jazz, an old contribution given to those who read….this.

i am really happy with my educational pursuit, the institutions of education have their many positives and at times negatives. is not a pure privilege to study and on top study that which interests you?

productivity seems to be so far away as i meander within the salty lakes of laziness.

the soundtrack is the velvety melodies provided by a man and his piano.

i listened to soo much jazz last night that i could hear it within the silence.

===============

i recently found this link written on the wall of a friend of mine.

from the creativities of worlwide green eyes and it’s a project heroines  which looks at the women of vancouvers downtown eastside.

Cava Autobody, 124 East Cordova St. Vancouver, May 3, 1998

there seems to be a maintenance of glamour regardless of their complete preoccupation with their drug addiction to heroine.

the aesthetic is minimal allowing the bodies of the subject to tell their appropriate story.

===============

my recent musical revelation was had last night when i realized that a favourite radio station also existed within the depths of the internet. providing anyone with the interest of listening to their tunes the opportunity 24hrs/7days a week .

et voila

TSF JAZZ,

for whenever you are in want of constant tunes.

i have always considered myself a philanthropist, with the meer interest of sharing my bevy of wealth.

===============

i’m off into the realm of productivity, i hope my laziness will allow me to arrive safe and sound.

happy sunday and all the other days in the weekend to proceed.

the moon shone within a haloed rainbow. lighting up the night that was to come.

======================================

i have become more participatory with the action of visiting the cinema. having little to no knowledge on the story that was about to be exposed. waiting for theobservations to be had from the crowd and from the film in itself.

last night, i entered a world of simplicity which tackled an often alienated subject.

SHAME was the name, a film i thought was made by the famous adrenaline loving, american actor steve mcqueen

however, i later found out that said actor passed away some thirty years ago. making the reality of releasing a new film slightly impossible.

however this living steve mcqueen happens to be british director/artist who merely holds relations to an adrenaline loving american actor. our primary plan was to see another film which will be left unsaid. we decided to swap late in the game but i’m glad we switched it up.

the film has a simple aesthetic by paying attention to the beauty in details. while successfully addressing a subject which is often tabooed and consequently never spoken about. i felt a bevy of emotions from being uncomfortable as he sinks deeper within his hunger for more and yet the curiosity of exploring the psychosis of a man overcome by his primal desire.

i am,

how do you say into it?

i am also into the movie that they had as preview before.

the title has escaped me

but it was a cleanly shot film about a woman who just loves to lift weights. it was bloody brilliant. i also liked the slow build up of the trailer, slowly introducing the maiden of iron.

what was also interesting was to see the crowds response; unsure if it was a comedy and also with being affronted by the female body in such close and muscular detail.

body builders, they’re just into looking fit

i guess.

—————————————-

it’s approximately 16:22, and my activities thus far have included;

• indulging in a pain au chocolate, chocolate mousse and a cafe for breakfast
• hitting up the oh so loved marche d’aligre
• finding a thrift store around the corner, consequently leading to me having a handful of hangers which dug into my hand as i awaited a stall. nothing was purchased but i was tempted by a couple things.
• hopping on a bicycle and heading to parc bercy for a run/walk/stroll
• biking home
• loving life

i feel like a lot of good has been had thus far.

saturdays, your not so bad.