Tim Burton’s fantastical Alice in Wonderland was released in Canada over two weeks ago, and though I had been waiting for it to hit theatres since sometime last fall, I finally got around to seeing it. This film has been considerably hyped and long-awaited for many, and for me, it didn’t disappoint. I’ve read a few less than laudatory reviews about this film; some critics have criticized Johnny Depp’s portrayal of the Mad Hatter and others have complained that the story is lacking, but I couldn’t disagree with them more.
"Do you know why a raven is like a writing desk?"
Linda Woolverton wrote the screenplay, and it’s no wonder I personally was so pleased with the story, as she is responsible for writing such Disney gems as Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, as well as episodes from some of my favorite 80s TV shows, My Little Pony, Popples and Dennis the Menace. With 2010’s Alice in Wonderland, Ms. Woolverton created a more grown-up and evolved version of the 150-year old tale, adding several more layers and themes to the story, which may be why some people thought the plot was somewhat convoluted and discursive. This version of Alice in Wonderland, which should be considered more of a sequel to the original than a remake, was inspired by Lewis Carroll’s poem, Jabberwocky, which is widely considered one of the greatest nonsense poems ever written. Tim Burton seems to be rather fond of the nonsensical, the whimsical and the impossible, so it’s only fitting that this version of the film combines two of Carroll’s greatest works to fully embrace the absurdity of life and explore the nuttier side of imagination.
The story begins with a wee little Alice – the one we all know and love – telling her father about a recurrent nightmare of a creepy land full of loopy characters that has led the six-year-old to believe she has “gone round the bend”. Her father feels her forehead and assures she has, in fact, gone mad, completely bonkers, but fills her in on a little secret that all the best people are (mad, that is). Fast forward 13 years later to a Victorian London where poor Alice is to be betrothed to a creepy red-headed twit of a Lord with digestive problems. She manages to escape his proposal by chasing after a white rabbit in a petticoat, and just like in the original, she falls down a rabbit hole and straight into Wonderland. Alice is met by some of her old acquaintances from what she believes is her recurrent nightmare, but she’s unable to recall any of them or the mystical place she has found herself in. Alice does, in fact, meet all of our favorite characters from the original Wonderland, but they’re all more jaded – and in many instances insane – than the characters in the original story. However, this is no surprise, as it is a Tim Burton film, and this Wonderland (which we later learn is actually, and fittingly, called Underland) is much darker and more warped than it was when Disney took a stab at the beloved Lewis Carroll story the first time around in 1951.
I think she might have a brain tumor
In fact, the central plot and the themes of the Tim Burton/Linda Woolverton version of Wonderland are completely different from the 1951 version, as well as Carroll’s 1865 masterpiece: where Alice is a naive little girl who simply experiences (passively, the way children normally do) the mind-bending events in the original story, she is a stubborn, creative and empowered young women who is tired of living a typical life determined and directed by her family and the overly rigid British society she was born into, and also struggles with the demands of the Underland characters to save them from the Red Queen’s cruel regime; this story is primarily about self-determination and being a captain of your destiny, rather than just going along for the ride on a course that others have set you on. You go, girl.
Of course it was no surprise that Johnny Depp was cast as the Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, but these two played their characters magnificently and with delightful lunacy. Chrispin Glover was in true creepy form as Stayne, the Red Queen’s largeness-obsessed knave, and Anne Hathaway played the peaceful, cruelty-free White Queen quite well, though I would have made those black caterpillar eyebrows white to match her platinum mane. Tweedledee and Tweedledum were always amusing and played perfectly by Matt Lucas, our beloved Little Britain star. The casting director (probably largely directed by Mr. Burton) did a fabulous job, and made an excellent decision by casting Mia Wasikowska as Alice, the 20-year-old Australian actor who, before Alice, hadn’t played a lead role. She gave the grown-up Alice the strength, determination and dreaminess necessary for this role, and played the part like a seasoned professional.
The charming Tweedles
The special effects were impressive and the graphics were spellbinding, though I found myself forgetting that I was seeing the film in 3D. It is certainly a movie that should be enjoyed on the big screen, but unlike last year’s 3D blockbuster, Avatar, I think it would be just as aesthetically captivating if viewed on a regular screen.
Before you see Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, check out this 107-year-old silent film version of the story, the first screen adaptation, for a reminder of how far film has come in the past century. But be warned: in this film, Alice is frighteningly masculine, a baby turns into a piglet, the Cheshire cat is glaring rather than grinning, and the special effects are…well, you’ll see.
Mario Sánchez Nevado, or “Aegis Strife“, is a mostly self-taught 24-year-old Spanish artist who creates whimsical, intricate, surreal images that often evoke an intense emotional response. Aegis Strife predominantly works with photo manipulation, but also paints (with oils and acrylics), does photography, writes poetry and sings in a band. His work has been featured in a number of different magazines and you can purchase his prints online through deviantArt, RedBubble and Artzprojekt/Zazzle.
Aegis Strife’s art is most often a metaphysical exploration of aspects of the human condition: joy, despair, love, fear, lust, longing. It often examines man’s relationship with nature, and with the supernatural realm. Some pieces are simply aesthetically captivating, but they still move you with as much force as the more emotionally charged or conceptual pieces. Using mostly digital tools, Aegis Strife creates beautiful, powerful images that look like snapshots from fantastical dreams, and sometimes creepy nightmares.
I asked Mario Sánchez Nevado some questions about his personal artistic process.
Ahead on our way
Can you tell me a bit about your process when creating an artwork?
The process I take is almost automatic. Usually I sit in front of the computer and I start doodling, and at one point or another, I “understand” what I am creating and from that moment I know where to lead my steps in that creation in particular. Other times it’s an idea I’ve had in mind for a while and I decide to start a creative process, researching information, sketching, etc. The first kind of work is more emotionally-oriented, and the second kind of work is more conceptual, but I prefer the emotional approach. So as you can see, every piece has a different procedure. I try to experiment.
What is your greatest inspiration?
I guess my main inspiration, knowing that most of my work is emotional, is my everyday life, how I see it and which reactions it creates in my being. Also, music plays a very important role, so usually I feel inspired by certain melodies and lyrics.
Freedom
I mainly work with photomanipulation, because it’s easier and allows me to get results faster than any other media in the field of creative ideas. I can mix some photos and see if they’ll look good and fit with the concept, and if I don’t like it I’ll just throw to the can a few minutes of my time. On the other hand, if I like what I see, then I’ll spend days or weeks refining everything. I also like painting a lot, especially with oils and acrylics, but it’s hard to work that way if you want real results as an illustrator, knowing that nowadays traditional medias are almost obsolete (sadly) and more expensive (and dirty). But I also prefer to work in mixed media because the appeal of the images is stronger, at least for me.
The god that failed
Do you go through periods of “artist’s block”? If so, how do you deal with it?
Sometimes I have periods in which I start creating images and one hour later I close them because I think they’re useless. Knowing that I work using an automatic way of making things, experiencing a block is a completely random occurrence. It usually comes when I’ve been working in the same style for more than a month and I need fresh air. How do I deal with it? I just let the things flow. If my brain doesn’t want to create anything I just switch it off and do other things until I desire to paint something. It usually works that way.
Interlude
How has your artwork changed over the years, and how has it changed you?
It has changed due to my will of experimentation. I don’t publish everything I do. Most of my published artworks are photomanipulations and digital mixed media pieces, but I work a lot in collages, paintings, photography, found objects, etc. Some of that work is used in digital artworks and the rest remains in my private collection. So, my artworks evolve as long as I try new methods and materials in analogical medias. It’s sounds strange but that’s the way I work .
I can hate you
My digital artwork has changed a lot since I started in 2005, because at first it was plain dark art and it has gone through periods of surreal or almost pop pieces. Every new style you work with leaves a little “something” in you that changes your style when you mix that with other themes and concepts, so it’s ever-evolving, it always changing, sometimes for good, and sometimes for bad, but that’s the risk!
Finding
Retransmission - A comment on the hypocrisy and misdirected efforts of censorship.
The Wood Brothers, Chris on bass and Oliver on guitar
Every few years, I stumble upon a band or musician that totally rocks my world and leaves me a changed person. At their intimate concert last Saturday night at The Media Club, The Wood Brothers did just that.
The tiny space becomes packed easily, so we decided to get comfy and claim a spot on the floor, only feet from the stage where the incredibly talented brothers would be performing. Chris Wood, one-third of the musically progressive (not to mention popular) jazz-funk trio Medeski Martin & Wood warmed our hearts with his mad upright bass-playing skills, while his singing, guitar-strumming brother Oliver (guitarist and vocalist for Atlanta-based King Johnson) wooed us with his raspy-but-rich voice.
The Wood Brothers have joined forces once again after being separated by thousands of miles and the pursuit of each of their dreams, and boy am I glad they’ve found their way back to one another. The have a unique bluesy-folk-rock sound and have captured the perfect combo of soul, sweetness, funk and fun on their 2008 album Loaded. The only thing I don’t like about this band is that they’re not ridiculously rich and famous (as they very well should be) and therefore I can’t find a video of adequate quality on youtube to do justice to their abilities. However, you can check out a bunch of their songs right on their website: http://www.thewoodbrothers.com/. And better yet, you can support fantastic talent and encourage these boys to continue to make beautiful music by purchasing one (or all!) of their cds.
The Wood Brothers’ songs are playing on repeat in my head, and I’m making their music the new soundtrack to my life.
This is by far the best short film I have ever seen, and the only one that has made me cry. But they were happy, inspired, hopeful tears that stained my face with joy. This is one of those special films that everybody can take something from and apply to their own life. If nothing else, it’ll make you grateful that you have two legs to stand on and two arms with which to flex your guns. Grab the box of tissue, snuggle up with a loved one, and enjoy The Butterfly Circus.
The Butterfly Circus was the very deserving winner of The Doorpost Film Project 2009, which had filmmakers create 20-minute shorts on six different themes: hope, forgiveness, freedom, humility, joy, and redemption. Check out the runners up and the other entries at http://www.thedoorpost.com.
(Fun Fact: Doug Jones, the actor who played the contortionist in The Butterfly Circus is also the same guy who played the nightmare-inducing, child-eating, eyeballs-on-hands-wearing creature (The Pale Man) in Pan’s Labyrinth; he also played the less-creepy Faun in the same movie. Mr. Jones seems to have an affinity for playing atypical or fantastical characters, as he was cast as the Silver Surfer in Fantastic 4, and was transformed into both Abe Sapien and the Angel of Death for Hellboy.)
The streets were alive with pride in Vancouver today as an estimated 700,000 spectators flocked to the streets for the thirty-seventh (31?) annual gay pride parade. From feather boa and sequin-clad drag queens to Jack Layton and several NDP supporters to the Beacon Unitarian Church, thousands of enthusiastic paraders strutted their stuff through the streets of downtown in the name of equality, not to mention fabulousness.
After I got over the initial irritation of having to look over the shoulders of dozens of fellow spectators to get a view of the flashy floats, I was incredibly pleased to see such an enormous turnout. The crowd was formed of people from all walks of life with conservative-looking middle-aged men and modestly-dressed old ladies mingling with the likes of flamboyant LGBT supporters and dashing young men in barely-there skivvies. It was an inspirational display of Vancouverites coming together for a good cause and
The streets were alive with pride in Vancouver as an estimated 700,000 spectators flocked to the streets for the annual gay pride parade. From feather boa and sequin-clad drag queens to Jack Layton and several NDP supporters to the Beacon Unitarian Church, thousands of enthusiastic paraders strutted their stuff through the streets of downtown in the name of equality, not to mention fabulousness.
Once I got over the initial irritation of having to look over the shoulders of dozens of fellow parade-goers to get a view of the flashy floats, I was incredibly pleased to see such an enormous turnout. The crowd was formed by people from all walks of life, with conservative-looking middle-aged men and modestly-dressed old ladies mingling with the likes of flamboyant LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) supporters and dashing gentlemen in scanty skivvies. It was an inspirational display of togetherness and support within the community and an uplifting reminder of the progress that has been made with the gay rights movement.
Lovely ladies, photo courtesy of http://www.vancouverpride.ca/
It was refreshing to see a heterosexual politician playfully dance around with his cowboy hat in the air, but I had to remind myself that Canadians are particularly tolerant and accepting folk and there are still many countries where the gay community is stifled rather than celebrated; we’ve come so far but still have a long way to go.
Homosexuality is considered criminal and gay pride parades are banned in many parts of the world. In Russia, gay pride parades, which Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov has dubbed “satanic gatherings”, are deemed unlawful. 40 of around 70 activists were arrested last May when they ignored the ban and proceeded with their demonstration. Two organisers of Moscow Gay Pride were arrested earlier this year for holding banners in the city centre and charged with “propaganda of homosexuality”. As if criminalising the right to peaceful protests or demonstrations isn’t bad enough, far more serious human rights violations continue to exist in the international gay community.
Homosexual and transgender people are frequently discriminated against, harassed and even tortured and murdered on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. In Iraq, police commandos and militants are encouraged by clerics to murder any suspected homosexuals. There are many accounts of gay men being arrested, tortured and gang raped by groups of police officers, and the U.N. released a report in January of this year citing the existence of religious courts that sentence accused homosexuals to death. In 2005, leading Shiite Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani issued a religious decree stating that gay and lesbian individuals should be punished and killed in “the most severe way”. It is also not uncommon for Iraqi homosexuals to be disowned and often murdered by those closest to them to avoid shaming their family name.
Fabulously fierce
I’m not trying to put a dark cloud over the festive showing of support for the LGBT community in Vancouver – the sky was, in fact, filled with rainbows – but I think it’s important to remember that discrimination and abuse based on sexual orientation still occur worldwide and there are thousands of citizens who are denied the basic human right of equality. Anti-gay bullying and violence still exist in thousands of schoolyards around the world, and even in a city as liberal as Vancouver, hate crimes continue to occur. Gay rights are human rights, and equality should be universal.
The purpose of gay pride parades is to raise awareness and encourage the heterosexual majority to accept and embrace the LGBT community. The themes of this year’s gay pride parade in Vancouver were “educate, liberate, celebrate”, and those goals were certainly accomplished. The general feeling among the crowd was “be as gay as you like, we love you all the same.”
I practiced yoga for the first time on a beautiful beach at sunrise in Goa, India about a year-and-a-half ago. I’ve always been fairly flexible and inclined to twist and bend and stretch myself in various ways (in fact, there was a time when I wanted to be a contortionist), but up until that lovely morning in Goa I had only ever done pilates. The Indian yogi – who, by the way, was one of the sweetest, most interesting people I’ve ever met – kept asking me to demonstrate the postures for the group, so I knew yoga came somewhat naturally to me. It was an incredible experience and one I’ll never forget, but this type of yoga (a variation of sun salutation) was more of a meditation than a workout.
Not me, but a guy doing yoga in Goa
After doing some research on the different types of yoga upon returning home, I found a particular form of yoga that sounded interesting, vigorous and generally terrifying: Bikram’s yoga. The website told me this yoga consisted of a fixed set of 26 postures performed over 90 minutes in a room heated to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, or 40 degrees Celsius. I’m not one for extreme temperatures, but I definitely prefer extreme heat over even moderate cold, so I figured I’d give Bikram’s yoga a try.
I started sweating immediately upon entering the sauna room and began to worry about what I’d gotten myself into. I took note from the 20-or-so others in the class and lay down on my towel facing the back of the room, which in this case happened to be windows all the way across with an incredible view of the mountains. I thought the serene view might make the class a bit more relaxing: it didn’t, but it sure was beautiful. The class began and I found myself sweating profusely with the very first posture, Pranayama, a breathing exercise. Yes, you read right, breathing. The teacher instructed us to tighten our entire lower body and abdominals throughout the exercise, which was more muscle tensing than I’d done since breaking a sweat while attempting to open a particularly stubborn pickle jar. The class continued with the postures becoming increasingly more difficult and my towel becoming increasingly more pool-like. I was dizzy and nauseous and thought I might actually die on a number of occasions, but I made it through the entire class without leaving the room (or dying), and vowed to go back the very next day. It was certainly the most difficult workout I had ever done, but it was also the most gratifying. I felt muscles working that had not been worked in…ever. My heart rate must have been around 190bpm, and I likely lost a few pounds of water weight. I also had an intense emotional release and cried a bit at the end of the class, not because of pain or frustration or my eyes attempting to flush out the gallons of sweat that had flooded into them during the class, but because Bikram’s yoga had ushered me into a full-out catharsis. For starters, I felt extremely proud of myself for making it through the entire class, but some of the postures had also opened up my heart and released pent up emotional baggage that I had been carrying around for far too long. (FYI: camel pose, or ustrasana is the motha of all heart-opening postures, and I’ve grown to actually look forward to it.)
Camel Pose
I continued doing yoga three to four times weekly at the mountain-view studio (the Bikram’s studio on Kingsway and Boundary) for about three months, but switched to a studio closer to home thereafter. I found that both the studio in which you practice and the instructor who guides you through the class have as much impact on the effectiveness of the class as does the type of yoga you choose to practice. To that, Bikram would likely say that you should be able to practice yoga with a calm spirit and smiling face in the burning pits of hell, to which I would respond, “Pshaw.” Though the studio part of the equation is more a matter of aesthetic appeal and comfort than a determining factor of an effectual class, a good teacher plays a huge role in a successful yoga experience. I’ve been in classes before with teachers who have such strong accents that I have a very difficult time deciphering much of the dialogue, which can be a major problem for a beginner and slight annoyance for the more advanced student, as it is very unlikely that these teachers will guide you into deeper practice with improved form if you can’t understand anything they say.
Bikram Choudhury (founder of Bikram's yoga) "assisting" with a posture. Thank Krishna the instructors don't do this in the classes I attend.
Conversely, a good teacher can lead you toward a better understanding of each posture and its respective benefits, and may also assist you into deeper meditation and less laboured breathing. In my class today, Joe, the instructor, adjusted my form in standing bow and completely changed the posture for me. It turns out I was lowering my body before creating the back-bend, which is apparently the wrong way to do it. I’ve probably attended over 100 classes and had no idea my form with this posture was incorrect until today. My favorite type of teacher is one who reminds us why it is we are putting ourselves through this torture (to improve our entire well-being in everyday life), as well as the particular physiological (muscular, endocrinal, nervous, skeletal, etc.) and emotional benefits of each posture. I used to detest teachers who physically adjusted my form (I was all, “I’m sweaty and panting and irritable – DON’T TOUCH ME!”), but now I really appreciate it, since it is sometimes difficult to understand the necessary adjustments with verbal instruction alone.
I practiced yoga for another three months or so at the new studio (a two-minute walk from home), but I started to find my pocketbook dwindling and foolishly decided that I couldn’t afford to continue with Bikram’s yoga any longer. (More recently, I’ve come to the wiser conclusion that good health and overall well-being is worth at least $99/month, and I’ve made sacrifices in my lifestyle to pay for a yoga membership, even with my income being halved.)
Standing bow pose, or dandayamana-dhanurasana
Almost three months had passed since my last yoga class and I started to feel like my body was becoming deconditioned. I planned to get back into yoga, but I had some trouble actually getting my butt in gear. And then, on one fateful evening in mid-January of this year, I decided to do a complete overhaul on the arrangement of my bedroom furniture – alone. After an hour of moving every piece of furniture (bed, desk, big bookshelf full of books, dresser full of clothes, etc.) into every possible position in my room, I realized there was only one way to arrange my bedroom, which was exactly the way it was set up before I began moving stuff around. The only thing that came of my furniture rearrangement and subsequent disarrangement was a badly pinched nerve in my lower back, which later evolved into intense pain and a sensation of numbness or heaviness down the entire back of my left leg. The pain worsened in the days that followed and I eventually visited my doctor for a diagnosis, who instantly recognized the injury as sciatica.
This pose is particularly good for preventing and curing sciatica
The sciatica affected me for months following the initial injury, and I found myself rendered almost completely useless; I had difficulty sitting at my desk at work and often had to stand for periods while typing, walking on inclines or up stairs was particularly painful, I could hardly lift my leg without experiencing excruciating pain, and even bending over to tie my shoes became extremely difficult. I felt incapable of performing any type of exercise because of my limitations with everyday activities, which, in hindsight, was a misjudgment and a faulty conclusion based on fear.
Five months later, I was still experiencing intermittent sciatica and had not attempted any form of physical activity since the injury. Naturally, my butt and thighs had come to closely resemble cottage cheese and I was soft and flabby all over, but even worse, my entire body ached and I felt like an old woman with even the slightest of movements. I knew I had to make a major change.
I had not forgotten the wonders yoga can do for an injured and deconditioned body and I figured stretching in a hot room would be one of the safest activities I could do to get back in shape and rehabilitate. The first class back in Bikram’s yoga after my seven-month hiatus was definitely a bit of a strug, but I felt the greatest sense of relief; it wasn’t nearly as difficult as I had built it up to be in my mind and I only noticed my sciatica with one or two of the postures.
I’ve been doing yoga almost daily for three weeks now since my return, and I can already notice tremendous changes taking place. The composition of my body is steadily improving; muscle is replacing fat in many different parts of my body and everything is becoming somewhat less jiggly. My emotional well-being is also improving; there’s nothing like having to meditate for 90 minutes to survive intense heat while contorting your body in incomprehensible ways to make you realize your other problems are relatively insignificant. But in all seriousness, it takes a great deal of dedication to devote an hour-and-a-half of your day to self-induced (but character-building) suffering, and surviving each and every class simply reminds me of my strength (both mentally and physically), patience, self-acceptance and determination. It is also very humbling and inspiring to have a class full of people struggling and surviving in their own ways right along with you.
My girl Sadie demonstrates the end part of janushirasana with paschimotthanasana, or head-to-knee with both legs stretching
You’ll have to check your ego at the door each time you enter a Bikram’s yoga class, not only because you’ll be surrounded by confronting mirrors while you do your thing in barely-there booty shorts, but also because your strengths and weaknesses will differ from class to class and you’ll have to accept your difficulties as they are each day so that awkward pose won’t become impossible pose and cobra pose won’t make you want to coil up and die.
Ultimately, I do yoga because it helps me to achieve balance in my life. Bikram says, “It’s never too late, you’re never too old, you’re never too sick to start from scratch again, to be born again.” And I believe him.
Benefits of Bikram’s yoga:
promotes weight loss (burns around 800-1200 calories each class!)
aids detoxification through excessive sweating
strengthens and tones muscles
stimulates nervous system
improves circulation (good for cellulite reduction!)
strengthens joints and bones (spine is the big one) to prevent future injury
improves range of motion/flexibility
great cardio workout
increases endurance
improves mental discipline and reduces stress through meditation
flushes/smooths out blockages in arteries preventing cardiovascular disease
balances hormonal levels
improves posture and alignment
regulates digestive system
helps to lower blood pressure
improves lung efficiency and capacity
helps with a whole slew of ailments including diabetes, asthma, constipation, anorexia or overeating (regulates appetite), bronchitis, insomnia, obstructive lung disease, scoliosis and kyphosis, back pain/spasms, menstrual disorders, osteoarthritis, colitis, etc.
The new place I moved into this April was something of a fixer-upper. First of all, it smelled – really bad. The landlord pretended he had no idea what we were talking about when we mentioned the smell in the apartment, but he was obviously lying, as his ol’factory workers would’ve had to have been on strike for him to not smell that putrid odour. I think the source of the stench was our rancid carpets, which obviously had not been vacuumed in a number of years…if at all. (We remedied that situation by purchasing a powerful new vacuum and going over the carpets several times over. The smell is finally gone.) The light fixtures were decrepit and appeared to be rotting, as characterized by that lovely brownish-yellow colour that often accompanies plastic fixtures from the 70s that have never been cleaned. The shelves were caked with about a centimetre of dust, the kitchen faucet was (and actually still is) on the brink of popping right off, and the walls were all painted a nondescript, boring off-white. That being said, the place was a (relative) steal, since we’re only two blocks from my favourite street in Vancouver in a cute lil’ hood, but it was apparent that it would require quite a bit of work to make it into a comfortable little pad.
We painted the entire apartment – a project that took three full days and one half-day – which in and of itself transformed the space. The kitchen and bathroom are a sunny yellow, the dining room a rich, seductive dark burgundy (or wine, or plum…I can’t decide), the living room a soft peachy-brown, the hallways a calm, light mint/green tea, and the bedroom an earthy chocolate milk brown. (The bedroom required a last minute trip to home depot after a near Pepto-abysmal pink emergency. Flint and I looked at each other after applying a few strokes of this awful, deceiving colour to the bedroom walls, and said, “Eww. No.”)
The pink (right side) was FAR worse in person.
The place gradually came together, and after about a month, became one of my favourite places to ever have stepped foot in. We decorated with a combination of Flint’s and my personal pieces, as well as a few new additions, my favourite of which being my new 60s Underwood Typewriter. Another one of my favourite pieces is the old green filing cabinet drawer that we’ve modified into an interesting stand for our tiny black-and-white TV and oldschool Super Nintendo System.
Working on my next great novel
We’ve kept the tones earthy and natural and have included a few bright pieces (the fuschia, orange and green Mexican-inspired couch runner, for example) to keep it fresh and vibrant. We also stained the oak table a dark walnut colour to match Flint’s gorgeous chairs from a local antique shop, as well as to keep with the other dark wood pieces throughout the apartment. We installed three shelves – one big one on the right side of the living room and two smaller shelves on the left – to tie the place together and give it some depth and dimension, as well as to add some much needed book-shelvery. A lovely purple plant (named Louise) hangs in the far right corner of the living room and a handsome, curly plant (named Paul) hangs in the left corner, while the funky copper bell has found a permanent home above the full-length mirror in the space between living and dining rooms.
Enjoying my living space
I forgot how nice it was to have a fo-real dining room in which to eat, rather than perching on the arm of the couch or sitting on the floor at the coffee table to eat my dinner. And I love the way the sultry deep red of the dining room meets the happy yellow of the kitchen, as if to say: “Well hello, you perky, cheerful little thing! I’d love to compliment you with my soulful mystique. Look how hot we are together.” (Sassy little room.)
The colour isn't quite as vibrant here as it is in person, but you get the idea.
Most people spend a significant amount of time in their home, so it only make sense to actually enjoy being there. I’ve been at home more than normal lately, and I need to have a comfortable, relaxing, upbeat place to call home. The song in the youtube video below is called “To Build a Home” (which I borrowed the name from for the title of this post), and is a hauntingly beautiful piece by The Cinematic Orchestra with vocals by one of my favourite artists, Patrick Watson.
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I started sweating immediately upon entering the 
