Inspire Me Thursday (Or Any Day)

Whether you’re experiencing a bout of writer’s block or your creative juices are running low, check out Inspire Me Thursday. The self-proclaimed place to “amuse you inner muse” is bursting with creative prompts and resources.

I love perusing the site for ideas (or making it an accomplice to my procrastination…). They take inspiration from literally everywhere; this week they’ve highlighted a classical painting from the Louvre but in the past it’s been everything from the weather to cereal box art to soup. They even have a “creative sparks” section where they offer exercises to help you find motivation.

Their biggest claim to fame, however, is the weekly challenge. Every Thursday the site posts a source of inspiration that you’re supposed to interpret. You can use whatever media you want, from painting to poetry, and then post a link to it on your website or blog. This week, the challenge is a portrait of Mademoiselle Caroline Rivière by French Neoclassical artist Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. (I took a stab at it myself with oil pastels..) 

Try it for yourself – this week, next week, whenever. 

Halloween Costume Doomed? Get Some Klum

She is the Queen of Halloween, the Cream of Themes, and the Supreme Costume Fiend. She is the famous and fabulous Heidi Klum. In the spirit of breaking the mold (and on the good advice of my friend Soha), this woman must be paid her dues. Heidi Klum stands as an inspiration to costume creators everywhere.

Klum sums up her festive fundamentals in one phrase: “really go for it!” And go for it she does.

Since the debut of her annual Halloween party in 2000 (and yes, that makes this the tenth anniversary), Klum’s costumes have been nothing short of innovative and elaborate. From head to toe, every element of her costumes maintain her masquerade motif. Her imagery is always vivid and her attention to detail is relentless. Her arrivals are no exception; in 2003, dressed as an alien, Klum actually arrived in her own UFO.

If you’re lacking the necessary inspiration for your own costume, take a look through her scrapbook. My personal favorite was last year’s costume, Hindu goddess Kali, although her Garden of Eden apple was ingenious (you would never even know she was pregnant!)

Makeup your Mind: Cosmetic Alternatives for Halloween

After four years in university, I can’t help but feel that Halloween costumes have become slightly stagnant. Ladies, you especially know the drill: 50 bucks at McCulloch’s so you can sport the same slutty selection 60 million other girls show up with. And let’s face it, you’re either the good cop or the bad cop - the ball-busting, smoldering temptress or the cute, coy, secretly smoldering temptress.

When did Halloween become a walking male fantasy? What ever happened to the days of creativity and theatricality?

This year, why not leave a little something to the imagination? Literally. Try some fantasy makeup.

With a few good brushes and some decent theatrical paint, you can construct a fantasy more elaborate than any wet dream hanging on the rack. Makeup has all the impact of a mask without all the claustrophobia, and it’s guaranteed to be one of a kind. Best of all, you can pick up most of the swag (and I’m talking about the good stuff) for under $20.

Just check out the following selections – and guys, I’m talking to you here too! Even if you can’t do it yourself, it’s the perfect excuse to get up close and personal with a girl who can… 

  

Mia Michaels: The Essential Top 5

Mia Michaels, coveted choreographer and contemporary mastermind, has officially dropped out of So You Think You Can Dance.

Michaels has quite the resume: she choreographed Cirque du Soleil’s Delirium, and Celine Dion’s Las Vegas show A New Day… (which I have seen and can honestly say was brilliant!!). She has also worked with Madonna, Ricky Martin, Gloria Estafan, and Prince. She’s even got a few Emmy nods under her belt…

Over the course of her five seasons on the show, Michaels’ artistic and unique pieces have been some of the most memorable routines on the stage (to me at least). So, in honor of her fabulous work, I thought I would present my own essential Mia Michaels pieces from the show. Enjoy!

 

5. Randi and Evan: The Butt Dance

“Koop Island Blues” by Koop featuring Ane Brun

Season Five: Week Three Performance

(to skip the intro, go to 2:26)

 

4. Travis and Heidi: The Bench Dance

“Calling You” by Celine Dion

Season Two: Week Six Performance

 

3. Katee and Twitch: The Door Dance

“Mercy” by Duffy

Season Four: Week Seven Performance

 

2. Top 18 Group Dance

“Hgher Ground” by Stevie Wonder

Season Five: Week Two Results

 

1. Kayla and Kupono: The Addiction Dance

“Gravity” by Sara Barreilles

Season Five: Week Five Performance

(to skip the intro, go to 1:03)

 

Training Your Vision

Ah the train. Whether a majestic machine forging its path through rugged wilderness or an old Hollywood escort of the elegant and refined, it seems to carry a certain whimsy. Or so I thought until I realized one ran right past my apartment.

At eye level.

Every two hours.

At least.

For obvious reasons, I used to HATE this. The train is loud and intrusive and far too frequent for my liking.

But now that the tree branches are growing bare, I can actually see the trains pretty clearly. More importantly, I can see what’s on them: graffiti.

From hit-and-run style tags to full on murals, the train cars are covered with it. It’s like a giant passport stamped with the different people and places it’s encountered. It’s a guest book for artists and vandals alike. It’s a weathered nomad, touched by the scars and the souls of his travels. Suddenly you feel as though you’re in the presence of something very worldly and you can’t help but feel just a twinge of reverence. Suddenly, despite it being a little rough around the edges, you appreciate it.

So, next time you’re stranded in your car at a railway crossing, keep your eyes peeled. You never know what you’ll find.

Through with the Flu

Sometimes an arresting episode isn’t something moving and artistic. Sometimes it’s not pretty. Sometimes it’s a full-on crazed catharsis. Because sometimes someone just needs to say it. Today that someone is me.

photo by David Waldorf

1. Yes, I have a cough. Yes, I realize a cough is one of the symptoms of the H1N1 flu. But let’s be honest – so long as I’m not coughing up vomit I probably don’t need to be ostracized from polite society.
2. While I understand that it’s getting colder and there is an increasing need to bundle up, pairing your warm fuzzies with flip-flops is not only seasonally confused but just plain unintelligent. You are literally serving yourself up to illness on a rubber platter. Give your head a shake and then PLEASE put on some actual shoes.
3. Hand sanitizer does not make you invincible. Most of the dispensers are conveniently located at high-traffic entrances so 90% of people lube themselves up and then immediately touch a door handle. The amount of bacterial breeding passed on in that single transaction is no match for some diluted alcohol solution. You are totally re-contaminated. AND now you have dry skin.
4. If you are sick, please consider the following before you even think of complaining:

-Were you at any point traipsing around downtown in the zero degree temperatures without a coat on this weekend? (Ladies, were you doing so in a mini-dress with bare legs?)

-Did you stay out past last call and then make a stop off at Sammy Souvlaki’s?

-Did you spend the next day restlessly sleeping off a hangover?

-Was there a last minute homework marathon to catch up on Sunday night?

If you answered yes to any of these, suck it up, you were asking for it.

5. If you really are sick with H1N1, what are you doing on campus complaining about it? No one thinks you’re a trooper. Go home and stop infecting the rest of us.

Huh… I feel better now.

Where There's a Will There's a Way

Having been up most of the night with my nose to the grindstone, I’m feeling a little drained this morning. The thought of how much work I’ve cranked out in the last 24 hours is overwhelming to say the least. But, like all things worth fighting for, of course, I have actually had to fight to earn my undergraduate degree (mentally, I mean.. not in an actual boxing match or some prissy catfight).

So to anyone and everyone battling through 

school,

work, 

a relationship, 

whatever, 

this one’s for you. Chin up and stick to it. It’s worth it in the end.

William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds

 Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove.

O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wand'ring bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come;

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

For more Shakespearian sonnets, click here.

Imagine Imogen

Imogen Heap has probably become my absolute favorite artist. She’s quirky, she’s innovative and every one of her songs takes me somewhere completely different. Here is my essential top five.

5. Sweet Religion: This song is haunting and a little bit menacing – very Halloween. It’s a good song to get the blood pumping but it can put you on edge. I recommend listening to it if you need to keep your wits about you…

4. The Moment I Said It: I love the theatricality of this song. Whenever I hear it I feel like I can see the scene playing out on stage. As always, the lyrics are powerful and her vocals are eerily beautiful.

3. Goodnight and Go: This song is just sweet. It’s the anthem of the new crush. It’s excited and it’s swooning and there are parts of it when I swear I feel butterflies in my stomach.

2. Hide and Seek: This digitally synthesized a cappella track is one you don’t forget. The angsty but quirky lyrics and electro voices present a surprisingly strong stick-it-to-the-man. It’s the kind of thing that makes you feel like one person standing their ground is enough to take down the machine.

1. Let Go: (Yes, I know this actually counts as a Frou Frou song) This is my cure for writer’s block. It’s my muse. Whenever it soars, my mind seems to soar right along with it and I always find inspiration. Plus, let’s face it, who didn’t love Garden State?

Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism

(To anyone reading this, please excuse this brief and unrelated interlude. It's for my class.)

When we think of David and Goliath, we tend to look upon David favorably. He is the helpless little guy conquering the monster, forcing it to bend and bow beneath his ironclad wit and will. We tend to look at David and think of him as an inspiration. But if David were to stand behind Goliath, the picture would suddenly become a lot less favorable. Suddenly, David’s intentions would not be so noble. Suddenly, David’s manipulation would not be heroic.

Enter Rupert Murdoch.

As the owner of the FOX News Network, Murdoch has been portrayed as an agenda-setting, propaganda-mongering, media totalitarian, ruthlessly cutting the throats and sealing the mouths of all those who dare speak out against the Republican party. He is the brains behind the operation, and the man behind the media monster. In Outfoxed, the problem with Murdoch seems to be his bad intentions, and his poor use of the monster.

But here’s my question: why aren’t we worried that there’s a monster running around in the first place?

Monsters are inherently bad. They are evil, bad tempered beings of carnage and destruction. Why would you want to keep one around? How could you possibly stand to benefit? Even if it were a friendly monster, its sheer scale would be completely unbefitting any kind of practical reality.

So why not just banish the monster entirely? If the entire army were to have stood beside David, I’m betting Goliath would have made a retreat, or wouldn’t have dared to advance in the first place. The power of the people would make such a concentrated strategy unfeasible. That’s why we need a diverse source of strength.

Like citizen journalism.

Like this blog.

The man may have been outfoxed but the monster hasn’t been undone. Maybe we should start worrying about that. 

Don't Mok Me

As the late great Marilyn Monroe reminds us, some like it hot. And why shouldn’t they? After all, a lot of good things get your blood boiling and your temperature on the rise.

Think heavy breathing…

Think sweaty enduring contortions…

and I’m sure you’re thinking about…

HOT YOGA!!! (Get your mind out of the gutter).

Hot yoga, also referred to as moksha, is basically just a series of yoga postures done in a heated room. It sounds simple but I assure you, it’s like kama sutra with your clothes on – you will never sweat so much from stretching and breathing.

You’ll also never reap so many benefits for such little effort. Moksha yoga is great for lowering stress and weight while boosting your cardio, energy and immune system. For those of you practically living in the library right now, hunching and squinting over your books for hours at a time, moksha yoga is the ideal defense against stiffness and headaches. It’s even a known fighter of depression (in case your midterm season has come to that).

So try it yourself. If you’re here in London, check out Moksha Yoga London downtown. They have an awesome intro special - $20 for a week of unlimited classes or $7 for the Karma or Community classes that run on Friday and Sunday nights.

Even if you find it’s not your thing, at least you can brag about doing something that sounds spiritual and exotic. Or you could brag about getting all hot and sweaty in a group setting... Either way. Up to you.

How Do You Like Them Apples?

This afternoon, as I made my hurried hike across campus, I slipped and almost bailed in the middle of the sidewalk. When I reeled around to face the culprit, I was shocked to find it was an apple - the ground before me was littered with them! (I kid you not, this was outside the McIntosh Art Gallery – named for the man not the apple variety but still, imagine the irony.)

When the shock subsided I was left with an unbelievable pang of nostalgia. As a little girl, I remember taking autumn drives up Blue Mountain road and seeing the orchards blazing red and bursting with fruit. I don’t know if it’s that sweet aroma, the brisk air, the changing leaves or the big wooly sweaters, but something about it has gotten me ever since.

So I thought instead of going on a hayride this season, as has become the customary fall foray, why not try going apple picking? Apple Land Station is right outside London and it’s the perfect place to pick apples straight from the tree. They even pick you up and drop you off so you don’t have to lug your healthy hoard back through the orchard. (You didn’t hear it from me, but they also make a mean pie…)

photo by Cheryl Peddie

If that doesn’t do it for you, remember: an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Apples are busting with vitamin C and antioxidants, which is never a bad thing as flu season dawns. Apples are also known for promoting good liver health and helping to remove toxins from your system (just in case you got a little too festive over Thanksgiving weekend…).

So load up the car and head east on Dundas. You’ll be seeing red in no time.

Stop and Smell the Roses

It would seem that after our Indian summer, the doom and gloom has finally set in. With midterms approaching and H1N1 paranoia literally lurking behind every door (seriously, note the hand sanitizer dispensers), it’s hard to feel optimistic. That’s when my latest idea bloomed.

Get some flowers. Real ones; the silk ones you doused in “floral notes” don’t count.

According to AboutFlowers.com, flowers increase energy, happiness, compassion and kindness while reducing worry, anxiety and depression.

Having trouble dragging yourself out of bed before noon? Harvard found that flowers are a natural morning mood booster.

Is ProcrastiNation quickly becoming your new home? Texas A&M found that flowers promote innovative thinking, idea generation, problem solving and creativity.

You can also benefit from the colors you choose. According to Health.com blue encourages calm, yellow and green boost happiness, and red and violet promote energy (no wonder red roses are the bouquet of love - wink-wink).

Best of all, your bank account need not suffer for your botany. Check out your grocery store; I can usually pick up a prefab bouquet for less than ten bucks at my local Metro. Farmers markets are also great options (Londoners, try the Covent Garden Market downtown).

So next time you run out for milk, check out the floral section and see for yourself. The world may look rosier tomorrow. 

Seeing the Light

When I choose a book, the quirkier the better (if it’s any indication, my favorite book of all time is about an elderly Vietnamese national coroner with psychic abilities). So, not surprisingly, Chapters doesn’t always cut it.

Enter City Lights Bookshop.

(photo courtesy of City Lights Bookshop MySpace Page)

 
Located at 356 Richmond Street (just south of King Street), City Lights has been around since the 1970s. When you walk in the door, your gut reaction will probably be, “it sure smells that way.” But don’t let the mildew throw you off: this place has one colorful history, and I don’t mean the 25,000 titles it’s acquired over the years.

City Lights Bookshop was founded by Marc Emery, Canada’s Prince of Pot. This is the political and pot activist who, during his time in London, fought against the London Downtown Business Association’s mandatory beautification fees and was arrested for selling copies of 2 Live Crew’s federally banned rap music video, “Me So Horny.” Imagine that spirit captured in a bookstore: think diverse taste and a wry sense of humor.

It’s comfortingly claustrophobic, stacked floor to ceiling and in every nook and cranny with the most unique and idiosyncratic collection you will ever encounter. There are books, magazines, DVD’s, CD’s, records and even some adult fare. There are comics, quotes and handwritten notes taped to the bookends, and step ladders à la Beauty and the Beast littered throughout the aisles. It’s like something out of Harry Potter (which yes, for the record, I have read and reread in its entirety… don’t judge me).


(video courtesy of the London Free Press)

Somehow, and believe me I’m as surprised as anyone, this doesn’t translate to schizophrenic clutter. It may be unorthodox but this place is strangely commonsensical. As a compulsive neat freak, my personal favorite is that the Coles Notes have actually been shelved alongside their corresponding books.

So drop in and take a look for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.

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The Virtues of Vagrancy

For the days when you’ve reached your breaking point, when yoga and kumbaya just aren’t cutting it, allow me to introduce you to Vagrancy Films.

Now, before you get too excited, let me tell you: this is no art house effort. You will not require an ascot and beret ensemble. You will not be expected to grip your chin and look upwards pensively while you ponder some avant-garde societal commentary. Believe me, this is all crass, no class.

Vagrancy is all about grindhouse, gore, exploitation and kung fu: basically the cheesiest, sleaziest retro garbage you will ever witness on the big screen. While these trashy wares are definitely a riot on their own, the biggest draw to Vagrancy events is the theatre etiquette (or lack thereof I should say). Yelling, screaming, and heckling is not only encouraged but expected. Crude and colorful is the name of the game.

If you think this is a little too lowbrow for your taste, think of the satisfaction you get when you stub your toe and have an outburst of profanity.

Good social etiquette? – No.

Borderline anger mismanagement? – Perhaps.

Indulgent as hell? – You bet.

Now multiply that experience by about a hundred: that’s the Vagrancy way.

If you’d like to give it a try for yourself, join the Facebook group. Upcoming events include:

George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead on 35mm at Rainbow Cinema 

(Rainbow Cinemas, Galleria Mall, October 26^th at 9:15) 

and The Devil’s Night 16MM Movie Show at The Bucket of Blood 

(a.k.a. The Victoria Tavern, October 30^th at 9:00).

Don't just breathe out - freak out, scream out, and let it all out.