gimme gimme gimme. gimme some more.
ok 2 things to start this off:
-I measured myself on a wall last night against the heights of my sisters roomies and found out that I'm a full 2 inches shorter than I thought I was. I'm holding out for a second opinion.
-the new Hot Chip is fucking sick. get it before you catch SARS and die.
When I left you last I was sitting in Cafe Republique. Surprise surprise, I'm back. hey, free internet! I had a superfun night last night - after a wicked nap I had deelish curry that my sis and cousin made, drank down with many many bottles of wine. We went out for Shisha, which I've rediscovered as something I totally love...something about the flavor and the whole ritual, the sparkling of the coals and the thickness of the smoke coming out of your nose - its all so tingly and warm. mmmmm.
We went out and discovered this AMAZING FESTIVAL called "Nuit Blanches" - basically an all-night, full-city, mostly-free PARTY stretching over dozens of galleries, performance spaces, auditoriums, theatres, venues, etc...and literally everything from minimal techo to modern dance to these massive dryers that you could go INTO and warm up (and come out smelling dryer-fresh!)...we opted to take on Le Place des Artes, which had about a 1/2 dozen free events, including this fucking TIGHT afrobeat band that was playing in the lobby of the concert hall where we had gone to see the symphony.
what was amazing to me was the MASSIVE support the festival got! we didn't leave the hall until after 3AM, and the streets were seriously PACKED of people, some just getting started - many events didn't even begin until after 5AM...
it's moments like that that make me consider the state of the arts in Canada - I'm not going to go on a rant about how poor the funding is, etc...but in travelling in Europe, and in eastern canada, I've come to several realizations:
-people's 'quality of life' is built upon a standard which is both manufactured and falsified. I came to this realization when in Terrebonne at the mansion, when I began to assume that these people NEVER leave their house, because they've attained a level of 'happiness' based on STUFF and THINGS and OWNING things which have implied value.
-in the west, we seem to 'settle' for things that aren't HARD to get, but generally satisfy our needs as humans - fun, colorful, exciting things, but are few and far between, so we medicate ourselves with BIG MALLS and REALITY TV and SHOPPING AT SOUTH EDMONTON COMMON. it's so...backwards.
I get this little superiority complex when I travel that I try not to take too seriously...don't get me wrong, I love Edmonton, the community, the people, everything - but I think we don't take what we DO have seriously enough as a VALUE to the greater culture of a city. we think it's quirky, odd of us, that we're unique in a way that's both unique to the CITY and the world as a whole...but that's not the case. we should be seeing our contribution as having a higher value to the culture of our community as a whole. It's in the effort of a city to put money towards public art, towarda FREE festivals, like the one last night. Every stripe of person was there - young, old, punks, ravers, whatever...it made me SO happy to see a city which could support something as complex and well-organized as Nuit Blanche, in such a big way, while Edmonton has to bend over backwards to make things happen, and then just to get people to leave their house.
The bottom line is this: VALUE YOUR LOCAL CULTURE & WORK TO ENHANCE IT.
Those that already do, great. Those that don't, or don't care - wake up. Life is for LIVING, not sitting on your ass and debating who the greatest American Idol is.
So go to a gallery. or a show. or a dance performance. support your local artist, and they will improve your life, I guarantee.
I miss you, friends. I'm seeing Belle & Sebastien/New Pornographers tonight, going to Toronto tomorrow. If yr in the hood, holla.
Eli,out.
-I measured myself on a wall last night against the heights of my sisters roomies and found out that I'm a full 2 inches shorter than I thought I was. I'm holding out for a second opinion.
-the new Hot Chip is fucking sick. get it before you catch SARS and die.
When I left you last I was sitting in Cafe Republique. Surprise surprise, I'm back. hey, free internet! I had a superfun night last night - after a wicked nap I had deelish curry that my sis and cousin made, drank down with many many bottles of wine. We went out for Shisha, which I've rediscovered as something I totally love...something about the flavor and the whole ritual, the sparkling of the coals and the thickness of the smoke coming out of your nose - its all so tingly and warm. mmmmm.
We went out and discovered this AMAZING FESTIVAL called "Nuit Blanches" - basically an all-night, full-city, mostly-free PARTY stretching over dozens of galleries, performance spaces, auditoriums, theatres, venues, etc...and literally everything from minimal techo to modern dance to these massive dryers that you could go INTO and warm up (and come out smelling dryer-fresh!)...we opted to take on Le Place des Artes, which had about a 1/2 dozen free events, including this fucking TIGHT afrobeat band that was playing in the lobby of the concert hall where we had gone to see the symphony.
what was amazing to me was the MASSIVE support the festival got! we didn't leave the hall until after 3AM, and the streets were seriously PACKED of people, some just getting started - many events didn't even begin until after 5AM...
it's moments like that that make me consider the state of the arts in Canada - I'm not going to go on a rant about how poor the funding is, etc...but in travelling in Europe, and in eastern canada, I've come to several realizations:
-people's 'quality of life' is built upon a standard which is both manufactured and falsified. I came to this realization when in Terrebonne at the mansion, when I began to assume that these people NEVER leave their house, because they've attained a level of 'happiness' based on STUFF and THINGS and OWNING things which have implied value.
-in the west, we seem to 'settle' for things that aren't HARD to get, but generally satisfy our needs as humans - fun, colorful, exciting things, but are few and far between, so we medicate ourselves with BIG MALLS and REALITY TV and SHOPPING AT SOUTH EDMONTON COMMON. it's so...backwards.
I get this little superiority complex when I travel that I try not to take too seriously...don't get me wrong, I love Edmonton, the community, the people, everything - but I think we don't take what we DO have seriously enough as a VALUE to the greater culture of a city. we think it's quirky, odd of us, that we're unique in a way that's both unique to the CITY and the world as a whole...but that's not the case. we should be seeing our contribution as having a higher value to the culture of our community as a whole. It's in the effort of a city to put money towards public art, towarda FREE festivals, like the one last night. Every stripe of person was there - young, old, punks, ravers, whatever...it made me SO happy to see a city which could support something as complex and well-organized as Nuit Blanche, in such a big way, while Edmonton has to bend over backwards to make things happen, and then just to get people to leave their house.
The bottom line is this: VALUE YOUR LOCAL CULTURE & WORK TO ENHANCE IT.
Those that already do, great. Those that don't, or don't care - wake up. Life is for LIVING, not sitting on your ass and debating who the greatest American Idol is.
So go to a gallery. or a show. or a dance performance. support your local artist, and they will improve your life, I guarantee.
I miss you, friends. I'm seeing Belle & Sebastien/New Pornographers tonight, going to Toronto tomorrow. If yr in the hood, holla.
Eli,out.
posted by Eli at 1:33 PM
3 Comments:
as a funny french girl, here is my feedback:
stop making me so damn jealous! of your trip. of your imminent going to see Belle & Sebastian-ness. of that festival. of being in montreal. of all of it. sigh.
and you know, i value my local culture but sometimes, i miss my not-so-local culture more. vancouverites are just too "cool" to actually have fun at most cultural events it seems. instead, they just stand around in their hip outfits with their hip hair and sip their drinks and look bored. it's really annoying. anyway, have fun at the show. xo.
HOT CHIP WILL BREAK YOUR LEGS
SNAP OFF YOUR HEAD
Very nice blog!
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