Spoken Word

Image: Howard Zinn, August 24, 1922 – January 27, 2010

The remarkable Howard Zinn died yesterday. Historian, political science professor, author and playwright, social rights and anti-war activist.

Howard Zinn was The Truth. He was Integrity. He was Authenticity. This is the man that dared to be left. He changed the way we understand history and view authority. The only war he believed in was the war against war. His far-reaching influence and the list of people he inspired is neverending... From Noam Chomsky and Bruce Springsteen to Ben Affleck and Bob Dylan.

One of Zinn's last writings was an essay, published last week in The Nation on the first year of the Obama administration. This is what he wrote:

"I've been searching hard for a highlight," adding that he wasn't disappointed because he never expected a lot from Obama. "I think people are dazzled by Obama's rhetoric, and that people ought to begin to understand that Obama is going to be a mediocre president — which means, in our time, a dangerous president — unless there is some national movement to push him in a better direction."
- H. Zinn, 2010.

Long Live Zinnism.

I'm wearing nothing but this .free t-shirt

Image: I'm wearing nothing but this .free American Apparel t-shirt

Give only $15 to love on Haiti

100% of the proceeds will go to the lifeline mission. They have an established compound in Haiti (meaning they were there before the earthquake, KNOW what Haiti needs, and exactly how to fill that need) that offers medical, food, clothing, and spiritual help.

American Apparel ships internationally. And the t-shirt says "til we are all free." Please re-blog, re-tweet, facebook, and social network this t-shirt until you've done your part!

http://www.freeclothingco.bigcartel.com/

Love can mean many things

Music video director Emmet Malloy's rock documentary, The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights, explores the unusual push/pull relationship between extrovert Jack White and introvert Meg White on their 10th anniversary 2007 Canadian tour.

From what I've seen, the cinematography is beautiful and the footage is intimate. Performance footage, backstage interviews, and vignettes portray the personal relationship of a divorced rock couple who once claimed to be siblings.

The film opened at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival and is scheduled to be released as a box-set with an accompanying live album on March 16, 2010.

Are they lovers? Are they friends? Or are they siblings? Love can mean many things. I think that's what this rockumentary is all about.

NYC Rooftop Houses

Images: New York City Rooftop Houses

You have to be creative to live in New York City. It also helps if you have money. Leave it to New Yorkers to find ways to trump the penthouse and make the most of available real estate in Manhatten. Rooftop houses, so cool!

The first photo is located on the Upper West Side.

The second photo of the Cape Cod style bungalow is located at East 1st Street and 1st Ave.

The third photo is actually an extension of the top floor apartment and lives on the corner of East 13th Street and 3rd Ave.

Striped

Images: Kate Beckinsale, Mean Magazine

Hey, I have these socks!

To Write Love On Her Arms

To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA) is an American non-profit organization which aims to present hope for people struggling with self injury, suicide, depression, and addiction.

TWLOHA is in the running to win an online competition for a $1 million grant to help suicide prevention. Joaquin Phoenix, Liv Tyler, and Miley Cyrus are drawing attention to it.

It's a good cause. Love is the movement. Please vote. http://www.twloha.com/

Stupid

Diesel has launched "Be Stupid," a campaign that encourages consumers to take risks and move beyond the smart and sensible track for life. The campaign was developed by Anomaly London and includes online, press, and advertisements featuring "stupid" acts, as well as a recruitment campaign for the Diesel music video/2010 catalogue.

I hope your life philosophy is Stupid: http://www.diesel.com/be-stupid/

Celebrate

Image: Thursday night

Champagne Thursday Nights. My long-standing tradition of celebrating that you just never know what will happen by week's end. And it just seems appropriate to toast the fact that tomorrow is Friday.

There is only one rule: Anything goes!

Happy Champagne Thursday everyone!

Get your boots on

Image: Paola Kudacki

Palindrome

A palindrome is a word or sentence that reads the same forward as it does backwards. This video, Lost Generation, is a palindrome. And it was the winner in AARP's U@50 Challenge.

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that helps people 50 and over improve the quality of their lives as they age. In their crusade to lead positive change, they invited people between the ages of 18 and 30 for short video submissions on what they expect their lives to be like at age 50.

For more information on AARP, http://www.aarp.org/

Faith

It really makes me think. A country that is conditioned to having nothing, has faith. Our country that is conditioned to having everything, has almost none. I have been hearing reports that the people of Haiti have been singing in the streets. And then another 6.1 aftershock quivers. The Haitian people say, "Si Dieu vlé," which means, "If God wants," in Creolo. "Amwe" means, "Help me." God help them as the earth opens its mouth to devour them.

Composure

This cover song by Art of Ensemble featuring Sarah Slean is a work of art. This video is so well done it honestly sends chills down my spine. Sarah Slean is a gentle female beast. See the smeared blood on his chest? See the red splatters on the white floor? Sarah's civilized portrayal of love/hate as raw animalistic violence is striking. It's carnal. It's primitive. It's raw because it is so removed and detached.

Void of emotion, Sarah sings in an even voice that removes her from her violent acts against her lover. She is a woman way past anger. Past feeling. But not past caring. She still cares for revenge. It’s as though her every emotion spent, all that remains is cool exact fact. And that fact bleeds a pure white hate that lusts for revenge.

Sarah’s cool detachedness is most unsettling as you listen to her lyrics and the precise classical music rises and falls in time behind her. The way she so mockingly sings back her lovers’ unkept promises and then “oooooooh baby,” Omg! This is a woman scorned. Hell hath no wrath like her.

Sarah’s in control now. She is changed. And her lover has become the prey. She is dressed like a lady in pure virginal white as she so coolly confesses in proud half-smiles of how she ripped out his heart, put three bullets in his face, and hung him from a tree for all the others to see. Like a traitor. And her composure is just wow. You never got tough, like this woman got tough. But no, she'll never tear you apart.

Ladies, it's just a metaphor. Please don't try this with your ex-lovers at home.

Grace

Images: Milton's Marilyn

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best." - Marilyn Monroe

I have been delicately smashed to pieces. I have been abandoned in a dark wilderness. I have fought blindfolded in love’s battle. I have been raped by the thief, Death. I have been alone in a hospital, bleeding out dreams. I have suffered my illusions. And each time, I knew. I must recover. Even if I never do.

Every ballerina suffers for her art. Those seemingly effortless movements of precise motion are painstakingly rehearsed to a perfection called Grace. Live by their beautiful example. Be grace and be light. Make your pain beautiful and your actions precise. Surround yourself with soft people who emit bright light. And I promise, you won’t get lost in the dark.

The Gypset

gypsey + jet set = gypset



Images: Julia Chaplin, Elle Magazine

I've always wanted to live like Hemingway. Or like Gainsbourg and Bardot. To live a glamorous bohemian existence that endlessly fascinates. (Lust!) But realistically, I've always lacked the cash flow. Until now. I've found a third way. It's called, the gypset.

For me, it began with the realisation that I didn't want to live a conventional suburban lifestyle. But the alternative also didn't appeal. I didn't want to live a hippy lifestyle of the commune variety either. I wanted something else. I realised what I wanted was to have style, not labels. (There is a difference). I wanted to live glamour, not buy it. I wanted a creative home, not a suburban house. I wanted technology and comfort, not trendy and tacky. I wanted to be part of society, but I wanted to escape it. I wanted authentic, not superficial. I have a nine-to-fiver, but I didn't want it to define my life. I wanted to wander. I wanted culture. I wanted to create. I wanted to experience. And most of all, I didn't want to have to compromise on any of this. Enter the gypsetters.

The gypset is a counterculture of wanderers that fuse the wild and unconventional ethos of a gypsy with the sophistication and speed of the jet set. They are the next generation of artists and creative types who want to contribute to society, but on their own terms. They are artisits, musicians, fashion designers, photographers, and bon vivants who favour a hard to reach high-low mix of people and culture that is off the beaten path. The gypset follow in the footsteps of the Victorian era adventuresses, the lost generation, the beatniks, and the hippies. (I told you it was glamorous!)

So I've been trying it. In the past few months I have been creatively mixing the gypset's high-low aesthetic in a way that is just flexible enough to work for me. (Think laid-back meets city girl glam). Since I'm not independently wealthy or a celebrity, I have had to make some concessions on the gypset lifestyle. (I will have to keep my day job for now). But I'm not alone. Working professionals around the world are changing their lifestyles to become gypsetters to varying degrees. (Just like me!) For me, this blog is part of it. My life plans for the next year are part of it. I am guilty of wanderlust. I live for art. I'm a gypsetter. Are you? Bon vivant!

"Money, the right clothes, and even location doesn't make you a gypsetter. Buying luxury and checking into a five-star is not itself glamourous. Gypset glamour is about turning a rooftop into a supercool compound by painting the walls fuchsia, and firing up some votive candles for light." - Julia Chaplin, freelance writer

Take it all

Images: Marion Cotillard

"The simple lack of her is more to me than others' presence." - Edward Thomas, poet

Isn't Marion Cotillard gorgeous?! My favourite part of the movie Nine was her "Take It All" number. Just wow.

Different

Images: Julian Casablancas

What I love the most about New York Mag's Julian Casablancas interview is the theme: Jules stuck at an impasse of knowing what he wants to do and what he feels like he has to do for other people. From his music to his lunch, he refuses to settle. It's down to earth relateable. He just is. Is what? Effortless cool. New York style. Raw talent. And he is such a Virgo!

I can't wait for the next Strokes album. But in the meantime I'm happy listening to his solo work off Phrazes for the Young. I like his rock-synth mix sound. It's different from everything else... Just like Jules.

Hope

Image: WSJ.

Most people killed in an earthquake die within the first 72 hours. Rescue workers are racing against the clock today in a last hope to save those still trapped under the rubble and to keep the injured and hungry alive. Donations aren't the only thing you can do to help.

Everything is energy, and everything is in vibration. Science verifies this. Positive energy vibrates at a high frequency. Negative energy vibrates at a low frequency. And like attracts like. So let your energy project hope. Send the people of Haiti your good vibrations. Your positive thoughts, prayers, and hope can bring some good karma into the world today. And light a candle... Light does the darkness most fear.

Shaken

Images: Haiti

"The voices that were being heard from inside the collapsed buildings have now fallen silent. Haitians feel desperately alone, they are doing the best to fend for themselves but this is a place with no infrastructure. People can only dig through buildings with their hands in an attempt to rescue any survivors." - Andy Gallacher, BBC correspondent

Relief organizations are asking for monetary donations towards medical and other supplies to set up basic infrastructure, such as phone lines. At this time, they are not yet seeking material supplies such as clothes, food, or volunteers.

Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. I saw the devastation in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. And I saw how the politics of relief left that disaster. I drove through the graveyards that used to be suburbs. I saw the markings of the dead on homes. And that was in the United States. Imagine what lies in store for Haiti which has been in political turmoil since the removal of Aristide by the US and Canada. And even basic necessities, such as clean drinking water aren't available.

It cracks and breaks my heart. If you care, please donate.

Wonderland

'I could tell you my adventures — beginning from this morning,' said Alice a little timidly: 'but it's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.' — Lewis Carroll

Images: Annie Liebovitz; US Vogue 2005

Stella McCartney will design a jewelery accessory line for Disney based on Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland movie in theatres this March 2010. Rabbits, Mad Hatter's hats, hearts, and spades!

Howl

Image: James Franco as Allen Ginsberg and Todd Rotondi as Jack Kerouac in the Ginsberg biopic Howl.

“America I’ve given you all and now I’m nothing.”-- Allen Ginsberg, America (1956)

Sometimes the rambling stream of my own counsciousness is the only thing that makes any sense. Ginsberg taught me that. I can't wait to see Howl!

Coco

Image: A little white car she calls Coco.

I also drive a Coco. My very own white VW City Jetta that I like to think is Chanel label.

Eclipse

Image: Keep Calm and Put The Kettle On

The ancients believed that an eclipse upset the existing order of things. They feared them because they believed that earthquakes and volcanic activity often followed a lunar eclipse. While no modern day research study has been able to prove the connection, we have seen some substantial seismic activity recently with a 7.0 magnitude quake in Haiti on January 12, a 5.8 magnitude quake in Baja on December 30, 2 earthquakes in the Solomon Islands on January 4, a 6.5 magnitude quake in Northern California on January 9, and a 4.3 magnitude quake in Southern California on January 11. (see the moon wobbles chart for more). And we are still in the time frame of the December 31, 2009 lunation cycle until the new moon of January 15, 2010. Then what? I'm glad you asked.

When the sun is visible like a ring of fire, and the moon darkens its centre, we enter 25 degrees of Capricorn in a new moon annular solar eclipse. Sounds ominous, doesn't it? It gets better. The upcoming solar eclipse is no ordinary eclipse. Apparently, the January 15, 2010 solar eclipse is the longest annual eclipse of the third millennium. And there won't be another one to beat it until the year 3043. Astrologists are predicting it will pack a particularly potent energy punch. Great. If all this is true, we're all in for a real treat! Right?

Well, modern astrologists aren't quite as doomsday as the ancients. Modern astrologists believe eclipses bring about change. Which yes, upsets the order of things as the ancients feared. But they also believe change is necessary for growth and learning and all that positive happiness stuff. The upcoming solar eclipse apparently occurs in the areas of personal affairs and business deals. And since the eclipse takes place in the cardinal sign of Capricorn, these changes will be quick and abrupt.

I should also probably mention that Saturn and Pluto are entering a war. (Apparently there is hell of a lot going on cosmically right now). The two planets are also squaring off starting this month and for the rest of the year to challenge our relationships and personal growth. While Saturn will force us to examine our personal relationships and what we hold on to for the sake of familiarity and fear of the unknown, Pluto will force us to look inward to the self in search of our own hidden truths and those things that are just too difficult to accept.

So what do I believe? I've only recently started to really follow astrology. And I'm still not sure exactly what to make of it all. But I do believe in energy. I believe energy is all around us. I believe we are energy. So for me, the idea that big rocks floating around in space could impact the balance of universal energy seems almost logical to me. But I'm not a scientist. And I'm not an astrologist. I'm just a quirky female that has seen a lot of change in her life. Enough change to know that every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. So I don't believe in fearing change. I've learned change isn't scary, it's just unknown. And I think sometimes, the unknown can actually be pretty exciting. Since you never know what you're going to encounter next. So my astrological advice is to stay calm, live bravely, hope for the best, wish for the most, and don't be naive to the worst.

Oh and I read Susan Miller's Astrology Zone for your monthly horoscope.

Caged

Image: Yves Saint Laurent

Whore Pasta

Image: Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

This pasta dish is a regular at my house but it originates in the brothels of Sicilia, Italia. Spaghetti alla Puttanesca is the quick, cheap, and easy meal that the whores or "putanas" in Sicily used to make in between their gentleman callers. The "sugo" or sauce is made with odds and ends easily found in every Italian kitchen pantry. I love David Rocco's version of the recipe.

David Rocco's Nonna Maria's Spaghetti alla Puttanesca:

400 g spaghetti (0.8 lb)
1 can plum tomatoes with juices, roughly chopped
4 anchovy filets, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (60 ml)
fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
salt and chili pepper (fresh or dried)

While your spaghetti cooks in salted boiling water, prepare your sauce.

Heat up some olive oil in a large saucepan. Add garlic and chili peppers. When garlic is golden, add anchovies, olives, capers, and walnuts.

Let cook for a few seconds before pouring plum tomatoes into the pan. Cook for approximately five minutes.

About a minute and a half before the al dente stage, drain the spaghetti and add it to the saucepan, allowing it to finish cooking in the sauce. Sprinkle fresh parsley and plate. Serve immediately.

Per 4 persone.

Wanted

My friends Right by Midnight are looking for a new drummer. And I'm looking for a new hawt dummer boyfriend. We've decided to collaborate. I've agreed to go out on a date with Right by Midnight's next drummer. If you can keep the beat, inquire within.

Captivate

Images: Mark Selinger for Vogue Italia

captivate
1. To hold the attention of by fascinating; enchant
2. To capture.

I don't think being feminine has anything to do with shoes and pink and acting sweet. I think it's about how well you can captivate. It's about living the contradiction. It's about mastering the mix of soft and bold with a little bit of wild, in all the right amounts so they fascinate; and never erring too much on any one extreme. Being feminine is the art of being everything and nothing all at once, and then suceeding in making it all look effortless.

And then, it's totally all about the shoes.

Naked

Images: Dita von Teese and Scarlett Johansson; Flaunt magazine 2006

“How much has to be explored and discarded before reaching the naked flesh of feeling." - Claude Debussy

I think art endlessly fascinates because of the way it empowers the vulnerable. Raw and naked, self-aware and provoking. Art exposes feeling to invoke sentiment. Art masters manipulation to rule over subject. A great artist must always play both the master and the slave.

So go on, reveal yourself. Reveal yourself beyond the superficial to that naked place of feeling. And be strong in your weakness.

Marked

Image: Marilyn Monroe by Milton Greene

A few weeks ago, an unexpected turn of events led me to Fat Tuesday's in Ottawa where I encountered Jolyn, a palmist. It was unplanned, unpredictable, and unbelievable! I'll never forget the the sight of my inked hands... The tracings of my past, my present, and my future in black ink markings etched all over my palms. The accuracy of the ages and events of things past was remarkable. Jolyn mystically broke my life down into an art of lines and words and numbers that was almost mathematical. I've never seen anything like it. In the days following the experience, I felt like Lady Macbeth trying to wash her hands of imagined stains. The ink was gone, but I could still feel the impressions.

Romance

Image: Patrick Demarchelier

Duel

Westboro's Juniper Kitchen | Wine bar is hosting dueling chefs every Monday evening this winter featuring Ottawa chefs from The Whalesbone, Benitz Bistro, Allium, Absinthe, and more! The duel is a delicious date night idea and proceeds from the event will be donated to local charities.

Absinthe: La fée verte

Image: The Absinth Drinker; Pablo Picasso


Image: The Old Absinthe House, New Orleans

Absinthe has been banned for nearly a century since Prohibition, but the fabled “fée verte” is experiencing a revival. With more than 200 commercial brands of absinthe in distribution, the anise flavoured spirit has become a specialty feature in upscale bars and restaurants. In the past decade, almost every country has lifted the ban on absinthe and a modern version is en vogue. But the controversy surrounding absinthe continues. Very few commercial distilleries make absinthe with the alleged mind-altering wormwood. And those that do, keep the dose low since there are still laws against importing the spirit as well as, labelling requirements. Modern day commercially available absinthe may not possess the hallucinogenic mind trip of vintage absinthe legends, but at 80% alcohol (brand depending) I’d say it’s still wicked.

This infamous spirit has earned its celebrity status. Absinthe’s fascinating history as medicinal elixir, fashionable apéritif, bohemian muse, and hallucinogenic drug was once so favoured among both aristrocracy and bourgeoisie that it out-sold wine. (Absinthe’s fall from grace is attributed to the wine industry’s grudge against the spirit). The glamorous drink of La Belle Époque was served throughout Paris, at the Moulin Rouge, and in the cafés of Montmartre. As the favoured drink of the Pablo Picasso, Edgar Dégas, Edgar Allen Poe, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, and Charles Baudelaire, absinthe is the stuff of legends... Vincent Van Gogh madly cut off his own ear because of it. Jack the Ripper allegedly killed because of it. Nine Inch Nails wrote a song about it. Marilyn Manson even makes his own limited edition “Mansinthe” brand.

On a recent trip to New Orleans, Louisiana, I visited Jean Lafitte’s famed Vieux Carré bar, “The Old Absinthe House” at the corner of Rues Bourbon et Bienville. In operation since 1807, it is the most famous bar in a city of famous bars for its signature drink, The Absinthe Frappé. The bar has been visited by Frank Sinatra, Presidents William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, authors Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Walt Whitman, and even Alexis, Grand Duke of Russia. If you can’t make it to New Orleans, I recommend Ottawa’s Absinthe Café in Hintonburg which serves Canadian and Czech absinthe. Or, you can always make your own at home à la Hemingway…

Hemingway's “Death in the Afternoon” cocktail:

- Pour one jigger absinthe into a champagne glass,
- Add iced champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness;
Drink three to five of these slowly.

The Old Absinthe House's "Legendre Absinthe Frappé:"

- Fill a large glass with shaved ice,
- Add one teaspoon Benedictine,
- Add 2 tablespoons Legendre Absinthe,
- Add 4 tablespoons of water;

Cover glass with a shaker and shake until frosted. Strain into small glass and serve.

Curiosity

Image: The Brooklyn Flea; Flikr

I can't afford to heart NY right now, but for anyone travelling to New York City between now and March looking for something indoors and off the beaten path to try, you should definitely check out The Brooklyn Flea. Not your typical grandma's junk market, this flea is an upscale market for all things cool. And they even sample trendy food while you wander and lust your way through three stunning floors of past, present, and future finds for souvenirs.

And there's more... the flea has moved indoors for the winter to Skylight One Hanson, a gorgeous Art Deco building that was formerly the historical Williamsburg Bank. The venue just so happens to be the latest hot spot in rental venues on the NYC scene. And you won't get lost finding it... it's the tallest building in Brooklyn with a clocktower.

Every Saturday and Sunday until March. If you can, go!

Black Swan

Image: The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

A Black Swan Event is a high-impact, hard to predict, rare event beyond the realm of normal expectation. Examples include WWI, 9/11, financial crises, scientific discoveries, and personal life events. In hindsight, Black Swan Events are always predictable. And the more dependent and integrated the person, place, or thing, the greater the likelihood that a Black Swan will occur.

The term comes from the historical presumption/metaphor held by 17th century Europeans that “all swans must be white” until the discovery of black swans in Western Australia in the 18th century. The discovery proved falsification, that a perceived impossibility may later for found to exist.

Black Swan Events and their impact always depend on the observer. Learn to expect the unexpected. Be independent. Identify areas of vulnerability in your own life. Turn your Black Swans, white. And make omelets with broken eggs.