I'LL MOVE TO PARIS SHOOT SOME HEROIN AND FUCK WITH THE STARS.

YOU MAN THE ISLAND AND THE COCAINE AND THE ELEGANT CARS.

Merry Christmas to Me

Boys, you can break.
You find out how much they can take.
Boys will be strong, and boys soldier on, but boys would be gone without the warmth from a woman's good, good heart. 


On behalf of every man, looking out for every girl, you are the god and the weight of her world.

Paris, Je T'aime

Atlas Shrugged

Fireworks

2 years ago last night.

We celebrated our anniversary by going for dinner at the Calgary Tower, which, inexcusably for Calgary natives, was our first time doing so. 

It was perfect, it was one of those nights where the only thing that could make it more romantic would be fireworks. And then they started! We could see the GlobalFest Fireworks Festival perfectly from atop the tower. 

After dinner, we realized the entrance to the parkade was locked, so a friendly Palliser staff member led us through the twisty kitchen to a secret entrance while the kitchen staff looked on quizzically. My feet were sore, so he scooped me up in his arms and began to carry me. The staff member watched, and said, "That's cute, you carrying her like that."

Forget Me Knot/Reason I Love You #3

According to the ancient Anglo-Saxons, tying a string around your finger before bed is a way to keep an important idea from escaping your mind; it's the act of literally tying an idea to yourself.

This ring was given to me by my boy on Valentine's Day 2010 with a similar idea. The ring is silver, wrapped as if it were string tied for the same purpose, to remember. He told me that this was my reminder that he loves me, and that I shouldn't forget, but if I do, I just have to put this ring on and remember. 

Reason I Love You #2

This is our song.

just like a tourist in the city you were born

Last summer I was a tourist in my own city.

Covering the Culture and Heritage beat for the Calgary Beacon gave me a great opportunity to immerse myself in Calgary's vibrant and multifaceted community. I attended almost every cultural event that summer, and loved every minute of it. Above you can find some of my favourite shots.

If you ever get the opportunity, take the time to engage with some of the Calgary festival directors of Reggaefest, Afrikadey, Calgary Ukrainian Festival or any of the others - some of the stories of the organizers and roots of the festivals themselves are so interesting and give you good insight into Calgary's cultural evolution.

Also, should you ever find yourself in the same situation as I did in the summer of 2010 -- stuck in the city, working, and vacation-less -- spend some time exploring your city with new eyes. Everyone should be a tourist in their own city at least once. 

Counter-clockwise from the top: The celebratory Dragon Dance during the Chinatown Street Festival's (2010 was the centennial year of the Chinese-Calgarian community), dancers from the Indonesian pavilion at GlobalFest (my favourite thing about this photo is how varied their expressions are), a dancer breaks from the stage and joins the crowd at Afrikadey! 2010.

Nazar

I purchased this simple piece at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. The distinctive blue bead is known in Turkey as nazar boncugu, or the evil eye bead. The role of the bead is to protect you, your family, and your belongings from greedy and envious eyes. While this one in particular is distinct to the Turks, variations on the protectorate can be found everywhere from Tibet, Egypt and Ethiopia to Greece, Brazil and Israel. 

A friend explained to me that the red string holds meaning, too. To the Kabbalist it means protection, to the Hindu it brings blessings, to the Buddhist it means bravery, and to the Chinese it means destiny.

I have never been the type to rely on any man made item for my source of protection and security; I rely on a much higher power than this bead. The reason it adorns my wrist, however, is a reminder of what, or should I say who, does protect me.

It's my intimate reminder that I am protected.

The House of the Spirits

I first discovered The House of the Spirits in a first-year Humanities course at the U of C, and instantly I fell in love. It remains one of my top five favourite novels of all time.

It was written in 1982 by Isabel Allende, who happens to be related to the former Chilean president Salvador Allende, who was deposed in a coup d'etat in 1973 and replaced by a brutal military regime, led by Augusto Pinochet. It was originally published in Spanish, but has since been translated into English.

The entire book follows three generations of the same family, and while the author never identifies the country in which they live, based on historical events and the author's background it is clearly set in Chile. Allende is referred to first as The Candidate and later as The President while Pinochet is referred to as The General.

As a huge history lover, the later parts of this book in which they address the transformation of the country first by Allende, and later by Pinochet and how both affect this particular family really caught my attention. The author doesn't fail to capture the brutality of the Pinochet regime, and there were definitely parts of the story that were hard to read as a result.

There was only one thing that I didn't really enjoy - the author uses a literary technique called "magic realism", which is basically an attempt to blend magic and fantastical elements into real life situations. For example, one character has 'translucent skin and green hair'. This element really threw me off, I don't really read fantasy novels and prefer stories that are based on or at least in line with history and reality. The magical realism is more central at the beginning of the story and seems to fade out from there, however there are a few resurgences.

Overall the novel has interesting and dynamic characters, some that you can love, others that you can love to hate. One of the greatest strengths of The House of the Spirits is its ability to reveal how specific actions of family members in earlier generations influences and affects the lives of the children and grandchildren. It's beautifully written and one of those books that you just can't put down. I don't want to give any specifics and ruin parts of the book, so just seriously - go read this book!

We live in a beautiful world

Afrikadey, 2010
Princes' Island Park

Where's Waldo at Ephesus

Reason I Love You #1

"And I said, 'Put it right here'."

My Brief Encounter with Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge

Last month I had the opportunity to cover the Royal Tour to Canada for the Calgary Beacon. I was fortunate to have been accredited since I missed the application date by a full two-weeks, but "Genevieve" in Ottawa made it happen!

Going into the events I did not know what to expect, all I knew was that there would be around 1200 journalists and photographers.

Overall it was a great experience; chaotic at times, charming at others. Understandably, no media got close enough to meet or shake the hand of the Prince or Kate, and if you could see how vicious some reporters can be you'd understand why.

I did have a brief encounter, however. As the couple were leaving their reception at the BMO Centre, the remaining photographers swarmed them. The couple entered their black Lincoln, and began driving away, windows rolled up but smiling and waving nonetheless. My equipment was not good enough for me to bother trying to get a shot of them leaving with the black, tinted windows rolled up, so I decided to take a different approach. As they were driving by, I moved the camera from my eye, smiled a big smile, and waved to Kate. She looked, and then did a double take. It must have been a funny sight! A crowd of middle-aged men, their faces lost in their lenses, and then me -- a careless student reporter, camera to the side with a big grin, waving. And then she smiled right at me!

It's not much of a Royal encounter, but it was amusing for me and I'd like to think Kate found it amusing as well.