Stayin' Alive

Needless to say, it has been an extremely long time since I've posted on this blog (or blogs in general). Since the last post, quite a bit has happened!

To sum up, Paw and I went on a European adventure (of which food was one of the main themes), I worked on (and am still working on) my thesis, I played a bunch of drum shows and went to no concerts (as there were none of interest), started going to Balkan Beats at Divan Orange and naturally, changed my hair again.

Paw and I went to Spain, France and Italy and definitely came back with an expanded repertoire of recipes and food knowledge, as well as generally great experiences. We took two cooking classes - one in Barcelona (thanks to Paw) and one in Rome (as we were so inspired by the awesomeness of Barcelona's, we looked for one in Rome).

If you're ever in either city, check out Cook and Taste (for Barcelona) and Cooking Classes in Rome. Both are 50 euros for the preparation and degustation of a wonderful four course meal.

The highlights for me were Spanish Tortilla and home made gnocchi. But, everything was great overall.

Taste Florence is an amazing food tour. For 70 euros, you galavant around Florence for four hours with a tour guide tasting all kinds of food at different establishments. I can now say I had the 2nd best ice cream in the world at Gelateria Perche non (apparently the first is in PEI, say what?). The day after we went on a tour of Chianti by bike, which was also wonderful and quite epic (not to mention terrifying going down that steep hill).

In France, we had no cooking classes or food tours, so I bought a little cook book on Provencale cooking and we ate pretty well in Paris as well.

My favorite experiences in France were making my own perfume (which in passing smells great and I actually do wear it), sitting by the sea on any given day and getting to eat at some fancy places (Chez Clement and La Duree).

Overall, I guess to no one's surprise, my favorite country was Spain, with Barcelona being my favorite city. Why? It is filled with a long, rich and often tumultuous history, rented palm trees and imported sand, quirky and seemingly carefree vibe and a wide variety of food stuffs. I guess you could say it's like Montreal + + + (more history, nicer weather and a beach), haha. If you are ever in Barcelona, it's totally worth it to take one of the free tours through the Gothic quarter and also, if you're looking for a hostel - Backpackers BCN Disputacio was a total win. Great staff and quiet and friendly people (advertised as a non party hostel).

So yea, after getting back, the rest of the summer was spent thesis writing and partaking in general chillage with friends. I had the great opportunity to partake in the closing Mardi Gras style parade for the Montreal International Jazz Festival (my dad did, too, with his choir - haha, it was family day!), as well as Les Weekends du Monde, Nuits d'Afrique and Just for Laughs. We experienced some of the hottest weather (42 degrees C + humidity) and crazy torrential jungle rain (when did Montreal become a tropical climate?!). I also finally got to partake in a Newmindspace activity ! - the light saber battle in Toronto.

So now, I prepare for another show and continue writing with the hopes of finishing in the fall semester and never returning to school again (but hey, you never know. Maybe I'll be inspired to do a PhD one day...).

Once the school year restarts, we can always expect lots of shows to pop up. So far, I have three tickets!

1) Vampire Weekend w/ Dum Dum girls and Beach house (I've been wanting to see VW and Beach house for a while and Beach house was sold out earlier this year!)

2) Gorillaz - Say what? Gorillaz and the boss dogg, planet of the apes, they be going on a world tour and stopping in Montreal October 2010 (first world tour eva)

3) Massive Attack w/ Thievery Corporation. Again, dude man! I've been wanting to see Massive Attack for ages. Last time they were here, they played at Metropolis, but I was unable to go. They also played in Toronto earlier this year, but I was overseas. So, this is alltogether quite amazing.

Potentials:

Broken Social Scene in December. Yea, I've seen them before. But, they're really amazing live. Screaming during Ibi dreams of pavement is an experience I will never forget and one can only imagine that their next show will only be more epic (as the new record is quite epic itself).

Emilie Autumn. I have never seen her, but Paw has and says her shows are quite cool, with many props and theatrical elements.

So we shall see indeed. So, I bid yee good night on this early august morning. Njosnavelin is indeed, stayin' alive.

Walkscore

Someone on facebook posted this cool link. It measures the walkability of your house in the city :)
I got a score of 87% :D

Keep your boots clean

I spared a couple hours to make the sequel to Winter Part 1!




This ends the winter 2010 videos :)

La Primavera!

So, it's officially spring in Montreal (well it has been for the last two days). The weather gnomes decided to be screwy with us though by granting us amazing weather in these past two weeks...and now going back to what we call "normal" Montreal weather i.e. snow, cold, general greyness. I protest and demand sunshine. In order to counteract the glumness, we should listen to happy music! So, I'm taking a break from thesis writing to share some of what I've been listening to lately (been a while since I posted, too):

La Pegatina - Despierto


I found out about this Barcelona music group yesterday on facebook. Despierto is a very happy song. Some of the others are equally as happy. One of my other favorites is Petrolero. So far, I really like their music. You can also download their 2 albums on their site free of charge. Unfortunately, they won't be playing when I visit Barcelona in May :(

Manu Chao - Le P'tit Jardin

This song is from Manu's album Siberie, also available on his site for free download (yay!). This song is incredibly catchy and super cute!
I have generally been in a Manu Chao mood, listening to the albums Esperanza and Clandestino on repeat :)

Jimmy Cliff - Samba Reggae

So, today I was reminded about the existence of the annual Osheaga Music and Arts Festival. When checking out the pretty awesome line up (at least for Saturday, July 31), I noticed Jimmy Cliff is playing. I have heard of him before and some music, but decided to look more into it and so far this is my favorite tune (though most stuff on the best of is really good - if you're into reggae that is :P). It's really summery :) As for Osheaga, I'm seriously considering going as there will be the Arcade Fire, Stars, Gaslight Anthem, Beach house, Jimmy Cliff, Keane, as well as some other artists I don't know too well yet, but seem promising. In addition, more artists always get added as the festival approaches.

The Gorillaz - White Flag (feat. Bashy, Kano and the National Orchestra for Arabic Music)


The Gorillaz came out with a new album called "Plastic Beach". In the past, I have been a fan of some of their songs (I think most people like Clint Eastwood and 19-2000). Their previous album, Demon Dayz didn't sit too well with me (at least on first listening and I didn't really give it another chance). I started listening to Plastic Beach a little while ago and what I really like about it is the mix of sounds/genres. A perfect example is the song White Flag - it opens with arabic orchestral music and then meshes into some rap/hip hop beats, but with electronic noises. I also like how rap sounds w/ a British accent, hah. It's also very dancy. So, this isn't the stuff I typically listen to, but hey, yay variety. I blame Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. But, in all honesty, this album is good stuff.

Kisses - Bermuda


I can only describe this as soft pop, indie, electro dance from the 70s/80s or something. I'm really not sure how to classify. The guys voice is smooth, the music is catchy and easy to listen to. It is off of the album "The heart of the nightlife".

MGMT - Congratulations

MGMT have a new album called Congratulations and I like the title track :) Apart from that, so far, there's not a bunch that I like (maybe it needs to grow on me?). I liked Oracular Spectacular more. This track reminds me a bit of Bowie/Velvet Goldmine soundtrack. I generally like the mood of the song :) Unfortunately, youtube only has a live version. Flash Delerium is the first single, it is oooook.

As an aside, here's a clip of Weezer covering "Kids" by MGMT and "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga

Hot Chip - Sexual Healing

I heard about this covered from Newton about a month ago at a friend's birthday. I generally like the song "Sexual healing" by Marvin Gaye because the lyrics amuse me to no end and well the video is also really cheesy. In anycase, Newton was kind enough to let me listen to the cover on his music player. It's really good :) electronic-ish. These dudes also have an album out - "One life stand" and so far so good.

I've also been listening to some more funkero type stuff that I stumbled upon. There's one particular track by MC Katia - De cabeca pra baixo, that is catchy. Apparently she's classified as funk putaria. I'll take their word for it.

I also found some mixes of different types of music over at "Soundsgood". My fave so far is La Villa Cumbiera Mixtape. What's great is that you can download all the mixes/stuff that is posted :)

Finally, I was in a Massive Attack mood for a while, mostly listening to "Man Next Door" on repeat, a most excellent song :D So chill.



That ends my musical update. According to pitchfork, we should expect new Arcade Fire and M.I.A. this year!

No man's land

I was bored tonight and ended up making a quick video for the Winter. I suppose this shall be part 1, as I have plenty of winter clips left.



Music: Radiohead - I will (no man's land). This is the "los angeles version", as opposed to the original on the album Hail to the Thief.
This time I used sepia (instead of black and white :P)

Freshlyground, It's Blitz and other bits

So, I'm still on an Alicia Keys trip and that song Empire State of Mind refuses to leave my mind - including the version with Jay-Z. Like seriously, dude man - I had a dream last night that I was in New York. I feel like I'm reverting back to grade 11 where I used to listen to more hip hop/rap.

However! I did manage to listen to some other music despite my extremely Keysing week.
Thanks to Oficeandashes, I've been listening to Mt. Eden dubstep (a most premium DJ). My favorite track of the ones he showed me was "Sierra Leone" which features samples from the song "I'd like" by Freshlyground.



Other remixes I like by Mt. Eden are "Daniel" (Bat for lashes) and "Hide and Seek" (Imogen Heap).

Freshlyground is a group from South Africa. The vocalist has a very particular voice, which I can only describe as cheerful/slightly childlike at times, but very smooth. Some songs sound really spacy (like, I'd like from the album Nomvula) and others are very upbeat like Ma cherie, which is also closer to what I know South African music to be.


For the moment, Ma cherie (from the album ma cherie) is my favorite song. I love the beat, how energetic she is and absolutely love the horns and tingy guitar. I just can't resist that sound - it's so cheerful and summery. There's also some dancing in this live video. This music just makes me want summer sooner! :D

Here's one of my fave South African songs by Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens. The video is kinda amusing.


Now, as for the next on the list of things I'm listening to - the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I was at Cafe Santropol today with a couple friends and some music was playing that I didn't recognize, but liked. When I asked the waitress what it was, she said the new "Yeah Yeah Yeahs" album. It surprised me just because I didn't recognize Karen O's voice (though I had seen them live in 2004 - shame on me...or maybe it was just too echoey in the restaurant?). But, generally, it didn't sound like their usual stuff, which is a good thing.

So, I had downloaded "It's Blitz" last year when it came out, but never gave it a good listen. Now that I have, I do like it quite a bit. The track that I had heard was "Skeleton" and it was very spacy :D



Now, who's coming?!

Feb 20 - Owen Pallett (Not going, but Paw is :D)
Feb. 25 - Vitalic @ SAT (yes!!! Ticket purchased)
March 29 - Beach House @ Sala Rosa (didn't get ticket yet, but hoping to go :D)
April 18 - Gogol Bordello + Devotchka @ Metropolis (k, dude man, this is absolutely epic gypsyness and I already got my ticket).
May (middle of) - Kinetik Festival. Paw and I haven't decided which date for sure, but would like to go.

Apart from that, there is the Montreal Highlights Festival which ends Feb. 27 with the annual Nuit Blanche. This year I'm supposed to be participating in one of the events as a performer (rather than just a spectator, haha). But that means I won't be doing much of the Nuit Blanche activities this year. So, my friends, you must enjoy it for me! :D

Finally, my new favorite soup of the moment - Carrot, ginger + sesame. I tried it at Aux Vivres on Wednesday - so awesome. I hate carrot soup and juice usually...but the ginger gave it the required bite and the sesame oil added a nice flavor to it. Today at Santropol, their soup of the day was carrot, ginger and orange. It was okay, but required the addition of salt and pepper (whereas AV's needed nothing :o). At the health food store, I found a box of carrot, ginger and cashew - so I guess that will be my final carrot & ginger trial before making it myself and making it more awesome than all the others (of course).

Also, check this out - Adobe Photoshop Cook (thanks to Cindy!)

That's it for now.
Until next time!

PS: If you haven't seen Alicia Keys singing "Empire State of Mind" with Colbert, go check it out on youtube (video quality aint' so great though). It's really funny (thanks to paw for this).

Elements of Freedom

Hey peeps,

Well this is my first post of the New Year (both Western and Chinese, huzzuh!).
So, I haven't actually been checking out that much new music...just sometimes borrowing some of those "Rough Guide to..." music compilation CD's from the library.
Anyways, I don't really listen to the radio (so I never know what's going on), but one of my good friends does and apparently Alicia Keys came out with a new album called "Elements of Freedom". Typically, I just like one or two songs on her albums (for example, "No One" on the last album). Her voice is amazing, but I just don't care much for the super R&B songs. So, my friend really likes this new album and let me listen to a few songs in the car. And seriously, dude man...I think for the first time, I can say I like almost the entire album. I guess she changed her style slightly and it just works very well (this coming from someone who doesn't usually listen to this type of music...but there is no doubt, he voice is just aaaamaaazing :D).

So here are my favorite songs so far:

Doesn't mean anything


Try sleeping with a broken heart


Empire state of mind


Distance and Time


Until next time!

2009: Year in Review

Every year is eventful in its own right. Last year was a time where I finally felt rewarded for my hard work. This year, without going into too much detail, has tested my patience in every area of my life. So, I can safely say that I am happy that 2009 is ending and I can only hope that 2010 is better; not only for me, but for many others that I know that have also had quite a trying year.

I know there's still over a week until 2009 comes to an end, but I figured I'd do this now (I have nothing to do right now anyways :P).

So I'll try and include some of last years categories...but we'll see what I come up with.

3 activities:
Apple Picking - Quinn Farm: I would have to say that this was probably the funnest group activity of the year. Twelve people assembled to go and hunt for apples. This was followed by group cooking at a friend's place and soccer in the park. Definitely will do again (or so I hope).
As a runner up: Laser Tag - this was also a lot of fun. I managed to assemble 22 people for my birthday. It's just too bad that the game is only 20 minutes :)

Skating: I befriended a french exchange student this semester and she suggested we go skating (CEPSUM has free hours). I haven't gone skating regularly since I was about 9. Once I got the hang of it again, I really enjoyed it. So I shall continue this activity :)

Brazilian Percussions: This was an entirely random occurence - In mid-march, a girl in my biomechanics class asked if I wanted to try a free drumming class. I said ok. She and her 2 other friends decided to join, so I joined and have continued since then. I always thought if I played an instrument it would be the drums. I just didn't know I'd be playing samba :P Overall, an interesting experience.


3 Best Food Discoveries:
Cafe Byblos – Metro Laurier
Apart from trying Iranian food at my friend's place back in grade 9, this is the first time I've had any. As per the suggestion of a school friend, a troupe of 6-7 went to try their dish called "Le dizzy", made only on Sunday's. So, the food you get is enough for 2 (or 1 very hungry person) and it is also very fun to eat.
You have a stew that comes in a a big gourd. You strain out the liquid, which you eat with dried pita bread. The remaining food is mashed and then poured onto a plate. With your new mush, you take fresh pita bread and spoon some on with picked eggplant and other fresh herbs. It's realllllly tasty and I definitely suggest it.

Mazurka - Metro Sherbrooke
I generally love perogies. But dude man, this place is awesome. Maybe my judgement was skewed by the fact that I was starving (so was my friend) after a 4 hour long walk. But starvation alone cannot skew my food judgement!
Appetizer: marinated herring with some potato salad, beet salad, onions, etc. Usually, fish flakes apart. This fish was still chewy and just completely absorbed the marinade flavor. It was just *insert speechless, yummy, happy sound here* and my friend agreed. The soup that came with our combo was Dill Pickle soup. Sounds strange, I know. But this was also mouthgasm. I am determined to make it one day. As for the main, it was the vegetarian combo: 2 perogies, 1 potato pancake, 2 cheese blintzes and lots of sour cream on the side (this is not a meal for dislikers of creamy/dairy things). To end, we got tea. Haaaaaa. We left there completely satisfied, not too full and just generally happy (the waitress probably thought we hadn't eaten for days, since we finished every single thing, including the lettuce). Then decided we should make an eastern european feast (hasn't happened yet, but it will!).

Ramen - Metro Place d'Armes:
I like noodles in broth and I love Tampopo. Anytime I think of ramen, I think of Tampopo. So when I ate at Ramen (2X now), I was very pleased to find that the consistensy and texture of their noodles was exactly how the movie described it should be. Soft enough, but still retains enough structural integrity such that it's not mushy. In addition, the broth is tasty (Well, I had the soy broth. Miso is the other option) and they have vegetarian options. It was also a total mind warp to hear a chinese waiter with a french (from france) accent. Hoorah.

3 Best Tea/Chill Places:

David's Tea - Metro Mont Royal
There are actually 2 locations in Montreal, but I haven't been to the Pare one yet. In terms of chilling, probably not the best place. It has that kind of cold, ikea/deco/modern feel (it's painted all white). On the other hand, their tea selection is quite premium. In addition to traditional teas, they have a lot of flavored teas. I am a fan of Pumpkin chai, Creme caramel rooibos and coffee puerh (there's still so much to try though!)

Cha Guan - Metro Villa Maria:
The first time I went there, it was for a free workshop/tea tasting in the summer time. They had excellent iced teas and the workshop was also very interesting/educational (but I don't have the supplies to reproduce that :P). I went back later with a friend and decided to actually have tea and chill there. It was fun to sit on the floor and they're also very generous with their boiling water refills. It's rather small, but it has a nice quaint/homey feel. I haven't bought any tea there (though, I just received a very nice gift from a friend from there, with a choice of 4 teas). But, from what I can see, it is a bit pricy.

Cafe Dervish - Metro Berri-UQAM:
These dudes specialize in chai (I realize chai means tea, but I'm thinking of masala chai-ish types). They have many different kinds, spanning from traditional masala, to some kind of ethiopian blend. Their teas are made fresh, on the spot - with the choice of moo milk or soy milk. Each mug is about 5-6$, so it's not something you'd have often, but it's certainly tasty and comforting for those cold autumn and winter nights. As a side note, they have some quite premium food (all vegetarian, with the choice of veganizing your order). I particularly enjoyed their jamaican sandwich, which had faux turkey with jerk spices, lettuce and plantains and it was served on naan bread (yes, naan!).


3 Best Movie Discoveries

Cidade de Deus
I had heard about this movie before from a few people, but never saw it till this year. It is indeed a very good movie - definitely violent, a tad grim. Excellent soundtrack and it was fun for me to hear the brazilian portuguese accent.

Sin Nombre
I went to see this with 3 friends in the spring. Takes place in Honduras + Mexico. Another one of those violent and grim movies (do I see a trend...? nah, it just happened). Also a good soundtrack.

Taqwacore - The Birth of Punk Islam:
This here be a documentary on the beginnings and evolution of punk islam. Some of the groups were inspired by the book called the Taqwacores. It showed the islamic punk scene in the United States, as well as their travels from state to state. It also showed the reaction to punk islam in Pakistan (one of the groups went there). There were definitely some very funny parts. Overall, a very good documentary.


New General Entertainment:

The Big Bang Theory:
One of my friends suggested that I watch it. One thing that's good about this show is that you don't need to see all the previous episodes to understand what's going on. Each episide is kind of a single unit by itself (or what you need to know is easy to follow/determine). It basically follows the lives of 4 nerdy graduate students working at a university. So naturally, the humor is quite nerdy, but also very entertaining.


30 Rock
Paw sugguested I watch this show. So I started watching and then watched all the seasons within the span of 1-2 weeks. The humor is very quirky/off beat. That's the only way I can describe it.


True Blood:
This is the only other series I started watching this year. It's really cheesey, like really stinky winky cheese (talking bout some kinda 10 year old blue cheese). But that's what makes it entertaining. Most of the people on the show are stupid (as in making stupid decisions, getting themselves into stupid situations, and saying some of the cheesiest lines :P). There are 2 characters I like however - Eric and Lafayette (they are both badass). So this is the kinda show that you can watch when you don't want to expend too much brain power.

Music:

So here's the thing with music this year...I haven't listened to a lot of new bands. I either listened to stuff I already had or listened to some really old music or complilations (like Putumayo). I can't really suggest much off the top of my head, even in terms of new releases from bands I know. Generally ok, but nothing really mind blasting as far as I can remember. Maybe my 2009 mood is dampening my musical excitement :P

3 songs that happened to stay in my head

Massive Attack - Paradise Circus:

I found out about this new release while reading pitchfork. This song has been playing almost consistently for the last 2 days (itunes says 105 times. It was on loop while I was cleaning today...). Suffice to say, I'm very excited about the new Massive Attack album in general (and would be very happy if they toured around here). What I love about this song?
1) The beat - very chill, but layered. I really like the sound of the bass, though i'm also fond of the clapping.
2) The vocals - soft and smooth
It took 354 days, but I think I found my favorite song of the year.


Vampire Weekend - Horchata
Another pitchfork discovery. This song is hells catchy. One of my friends said it sounds like a christmas song, except they're talking about horchata (an excellent drink, I might add). I am also excited about their new album 'Contra' coming out Jan. 12 :) They've been very good at preventing leaks.

MC Serginho - Pocotocopo: (actually scratch that, most of the songs from the Rio Baile Funk : Favela booty album):
So this year, I've been to what...about 3 brazilianish parties and at all of them, some baile funk was present. I never knew what the songs were, just that they were catchy. Recently, my friend downloaded the stuff (how she found it, I dunno). In anycase, this stuff is incredibly catchy and also very very dancy :).

Despite the general crapitosness of this year (that's not to say there was no good stuff whatsoever), I am intent on ending it well i.e.: I shall try my best to be christmassy and in general good spirits and resolve as many things as possible, so as to not transport 2009 grimness into 2010.

So here's to the end of 2009! Merry Christmas and may 2010 bring health and happiness to you all, as well as success in all your endeavors.

Paradise Circus

Haven't blogged much in a while, but I thought I'd pop in for a bit to express my love for the new track "Paradise Circus" by my fave trip-hoppy dudes Massive Attack. It will be on the upcoming album "Heligoland" in Feb. 2010.
Now I just hope they tour :D



The actual video is NSFW. But you can look it up.

Ibi dreams of pavement

I was looking through some of my video faves on youtube and was reminded of how much I loved this song + this concert last Halloween :)

1...2...3....scream, GO! :D



Probably one of the best concert moments of all time (for me at least).
That's it :P

It's all nonsensical

Made a new video last night with the song Zina Marina by Gogol Bordello. Not at all what I had initially intended to use as a song, but I think it's more appropriate :)



I think this video has more appearances than any of the others ones. It is also the longest.

Enjoy :)

Horchata

Yeah, I'm on some kinda blog roll today. But this is short!!

Vampire Weekend released a new song called 'Horchata'. Now, the drink (which is a type of mexican rice drink w/ spices), is AWESOME.
The song is pretty catchy too :D



On a side note, I finally had some time to make another apple dessert (up to now i've only made pancakes and bread). It's a type of German Apple cake called Einfacher ApfelKuchen, the recipe for which I got here
Though, I used rice milk instead of milk and reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup from 1 cup.

Dude man, I can only describe this as a combination of egg tarts and apples in taste (both of which I love :o).

Mine turned out like this (I think you have to flip it, but I didn't, haha. I think it's good either way):

Good Hair

Also, on an entirely different note, I would like to see this movie:



I heard about it while watching Oprah (my mom called me from my room to see) and I understand why she did :) I have done many of the processes that he talks about in the movie (or at least from what I can see in the trailer). Some of which are really damaging to your hair and scalp (degrees of which depend on your hair type). So, for those of you who don't know much about how people with curly hair style their hair...here's a bit of info.

Here's a timeline of what I've done and I've included photos of all the corresponding hair pictures I could find:


Braid extensions total (since 2001): 14


Weave total = 4


Relaxed hair periods total = 4
Total treatments (virgin hair + touch ups) = 10

What follows is the explanations for some of them.

RELAXERS: a creamy product used to permanently straight your hair; its active ingredient is usually a strong alkali (like Sodium Hydroxide, pH of about 10-14). Sometimes a weaker alkali is used, such as Ammonium Thyoglicolate (I think a pH of 8-9). The natural pH of your hair is about 4.5-5.5, which means it's slightly acidic. So, the base a relaxer penetrates the cortex layer of your hair and breaks the bonds that give your hair is curly pattern. The relaxer stays on your hair for a certain amount of time (usually 20 minutes from the time of application), then it is rinsed and neutralized.
There is also something called a texturizer, which is a weakened version of a relaxer. So it just loosens your curls rather than straighten them completely. But, I think it contains the same basic ingredients.

Some problems:
1) People often leave the relaxer on for longer than 20 minutes (i.e. after all of it has been applied, then they count 20 minutes). This can result in chemical burns (it's very important to protect your scalp as much as possible when doing a relaxer, especially with a more alkaline relaxer). In fact, relaxers can generally lead to hair loss due to the application of such harsh chemicals.

2)Improper care of your hair after relaxing: As your hair is a weakened state (its bond have been broken), you have to continuously maintain it by always moisturizing and applying deep conditioning treatments. You also can't tie your hair too tightly as it will promote breakage of your hair. Without proper care, your hair will dry out and break. Hair breakage happens especially at the temples and around the nape area of the neck (at least in my experience - though it can be generally widespread).
In fact, hair breakage often occurs at the junction between your relaxed hair and new growth because the textures are so different. You try to detangle your natural hair and then reach the bone straight hair, and snap. That usually means you need a touch up on your new growth.


4) Your hair texture might not be suitable for relaxing: This is my case. My mom's hair is fine and wavy. My dad's hair is coarse and very tightly curled. My brother got coarse + big curls. I got fine + very tightly curled hair. So, after trying relaxers of various strengths a number of times , I've determined they never work for me. My hair breaks without fail, despite my attempts to properly maintain it.

5) Relaxers stink: When you're having the process done, dude man, it stinks...like 100 stink bombs. That's probably enough to deter me from doing it again, too.

Also, by the way, if you want to go back to your natural hair after relaxing...you have to grow it all back again :P Which means, grow out the relaxer and chop off the straight stuff (or just let your hair progressively break off...which is what usually happens to me. Except the first time, my mom chopped it off...not so cool for an 8 year old to have 2-3 inches of strangely styled hair).

Other ways to straighten curly hair: Blow dry + flat iron. The problem with doing this on a regular basis is that after a while, your hair will eventually either i) lose it's ability to curl in the same way ii) have general heat damage, leading to extreme dryness and breakage.

Non-chemical styling methods:

EXTENSIONS
1) Braiding: Braided extensions can be a great way to add length and color to your hair without the need for any chemicals. The stylist will basically add pieces of hair (whether fake or human) by braiding it with your own hair. You can have either single braids or cornrows (or combo of the two). I've had both done and generally liked them.

The problems:
i) You can't exactly wash your hair properly. Washing your scalp is entirely possible. But your hair is trapped in more hair and it's hard to completely wash. Though, i've had better experience washing hair with cornrows.
ii) Traction alopecia: more hair loss! The reason is that when you add extensions to your hair, especially if the stylist braids tightly, stress is applied to your scalp. Over time, with continual use of braided extension styles, your hair starts to thin in that area.
I'm trying to remedy that problem!

2) Weaves
In this process, the stylist cornrows your hair either in concentric circles or just in horizontal or vertical rows, then sews on tracks of hair (either fake or human - human looks nicer and lasts longer/has less of a tendency to tangle). You can either have a full weave (covering your entire head) or a partial one while integrating parts of your own hair (usually the front). So, here you can have wavy, straight, super curly hair. Whatever you like and it's not braided.

Problems:
i) The hair washing thing again. Though this time, you have an even harder time accessing your scalp since it's all covered by hair. It also take a while to dry.
ii) Hair loss!: the first time I had a weave done was in fall 2004, by the suggestion if a stylist after she noticed I had some thinning in the front due to doing single braids many times. She said it would give my hair a break. My initial impression of weaves was not so great - I felt that it made me look strange, as if I were wearing a helmet and then hair attached on top of it. But anyways, at the time, it did help my hair - I noticed less thinning following that style. My latest weave style was noticeably less helmetty (done by a different lady) but, I've experienced more thinning - which is rather upsetting :( So weaves = hair loss too.

There are a number of other natural styles people can do, like twists, afros, dreadlocks (though be careful with stress too...kind of like the single braids). You can also add clip on hair pieces to your hair.

Through all my hair experiments, I've definitely had regrets (that last relaxer in 2005-06 shouldn't have been done :P), but I've learned something from each of them. I would like to try to work with my own hair (so as to minimize hair and scalp damage), but I've found it hard to find something that's relatively simple to do and that looks nice. So the quest continues.

Anyways, following that lengthy text about hair styling - all this to say, I think the documentary would be interesting to see :D

Voggubarnsins Mál and other new listenings

I stumbled upon some new music in the last week and a half or so. While I haven't had a change to listen to everything, some songs have really stuck in my head.

The one that really stands out is "Voggubarnsins Mál" by Smárakvartettinn Á Akureyri. It was included on a compilation disc by Jonsi (from Sigur Ros) & Alex (Jonsi's boyfriend) called "Raindown My Favorite Songs".

It appears to be an icelandic hymn. I find it very soothing and peaceful - perfect for this weather (which happens to be cold and damp). I wish I could find a clip on the internet for it, but it seems to be rather obscure...

The rest of the CD is alright. There are some nice songs on it, though the above is still my favorite. Not all the songs are like this. In fact, I find the mood changes from one song to the next. Some are really old, like "Moon River" by Audrey Hepburn, "I can't believe you're in love with me" by Billie Holiday and "Parlez-moi d'amour" by Lucienne Boyer. I really like the Lucienne Boyer song as well...very old style french music :)



Other things that I have listened to recently:

Vitalic - Flashmob: yay! Vitalic has a new album out. I don't find that it sounds like their previous album, but still good electronic/electroclash music :D

Memory Tapes - Seek Magic: I've been listening to this one a lot lately. It falls into the same category as "Washed Out" for me - mellow electronic with some vocals. I like the CD on the whole, but I think my favorite song is "Run Out" (which I can't find a clip for either :( ).

Anyhow, as the rainy, autumn days are here, I think listening to Type O Negative's "October Rust" would be fitting. Here's ending my post with my two favorite songs "Love you to death" (I particularly like the ending where he repeats "am I good enough"):

and "Green Man":



Until next time :)

Good Morning, It's Fall

It has been a while since I posted and the time for pretty leaves has come.
Fall is one of my favorite seasons as it's the time for premium sweater weather, nostalgic music listenings, the smell of burning (around halloween, it always smells like that), and crunchy leaves to play in.

I'm also pretty happy that classes have started because the summer was pretty boring (nothing much to do at school w/ it being so empty and all). Hopefully things shall continue to improve :)
I have signed up for Portuguese lessons as well. It's a pretty convenient time to learn it, as it coincides with my Brazilian drumming. Perhaps I'll actually understand what the wednesday teacher says to some of the Brazilians sometimes :) But, I'm just generally excited about learning another language and I'm hoping i'll catch on easily as I know french and some spanish.

Speaking of things related to Brazil, I'd like to share this Capoeira video with you guys. I have seen Capoeira being done before, but I like this song and I rarely see people moving this fast + check out the head slide.



I'm not nearly bouncy enough for it though. I shall just observe :D

On a similar note - a friend of mine posted a cool karate video on Facebook about the style of Karate I practiced. Now I only wish my classes were that cool. It's pretty inspiring how they seem to move so easily with such sharp techniques.



Now it has come to my attention (whilst walking around downtown a few weeks ago) that Montreal has a cheesecake restaurant. This is exciting! I haven't been there yet, but I have been to the cheesecake factory in Boston. So one day I will venture there and explore their various selections of confectionary goodness.

In terms of music stuff, I haven't been to a concert since Osheaga and probably won't be at one in the forseeable future. There is not much coming around and nothing I particularly want to see. Kind of a musical low time you could say.
I haven't been listening to much new stuff either, but I will list a few things I have been listening to lately.

Brazilian stuff:
Putumayo Presents: Brasileiro
I particularly like the songs "Canto das Tres Racas", "Danca de Solidao", "Visgo de Jaca"
Cartola - Cartola (1974)
Alvorada, Preciso me Encontrar, Minha
I found out about this dude because of the Cidade de Deus soundtrack (which is also quite good. The movie is excellent)
Here's a song from the movie:

Os Partideiros de Pla - Metem Bronca
Arengueiro, Tem capoeira, E poeiro E po

Compilations:
Putumayo Presents (in general - been trying out a lot of the Putumayo Compilations lately):
French Caribbean
Ayiti Bang Bang (that's the song that plays with the capoeira video), Mandolin, Rete
Mexico This one is awesome because it's totally old style Ranchero music:
El Tecolote (you can't help but love the laugh at the beginning), La Bruja, Ranchu Gubina

Gypsy Caravan
Diri Diri so kerdjan, Movi Shej sabina
Actually, Gypsy Beats and Balkan Bangers Vol 1 and 2 are also great Gypsy CD Compilations :)

For non-compilations:
Lately, I've been listening the new Placebo (Battle for the Sun), Muse(The Resistance) and Islands (Vapours) CD's. I really like the first track from Vapours.

There's a band I just discovered called "Washed Out" and I really like the feel of their music. Kinda 80s lo-fi/mellow electronic or so.

He has a cassette called "High Times", but for the moment it's sold out and it's not on the internet either as far as I know...hopefully it'll pop up some time. I would like to hear it :)

And now to end, a blast from the past that I just heard recently:


Until next time

In times before fall

While listening to "Sunflowers" from the Everything is Illuminated soundtrack, I started fiddling with some clips I have and ended up making an impromptu video.
So here it is:



I do enjoy the old film look...probably a bit too much :P

A Scenic World, where the sunsets are all breathtaking...

I went to see Beirut on Saturday, July 11 with Paw and another friend as part of the indoor Jazz Fest line up. It took place at the Metropolis and was a sold out show (when they played 2 years ago at Sala Rossa, it was also sold out. However, Sala has a 250 person capacity, whereas Metropolis has almost 10X that capacity. Way to go Beirut). Apparently, we were also in the company of Win Butler of the Arcade Fire.

The opening band was the Dodo's and I didn't know anything about them and hadn't bothered to look up any of their music prior to attending the show. They did not disappoint though - very good band! During one of the songs, they were joined by Zach and one other person from Beirut to play horns. Also, major props to the drummer who was sick and feverish (the singer said he was shivering in the morning).

Later, Beirut came on stage. As expected, they played a great show. Two things that make me really happy are accordions and horns and they were there in abundance :) The ukelele is also pretty cute :P I don't recall the entire setlist and I am also having some difficult tracking one down...but from what I remember, they played (in no particular order):
Nantes
The Shrew
Elephant Gun
La Javanaise from Serge Gainsbourg
A song in Italian
Postcards from Italy
A Sunday Smile
Scenic World
After the Curtain
Mount Wroclai
Cherbourg
Guyamas Sonara
My Night with the Prostitute from Marseille
La Llorona (for the encore)

I'm sure I'm missing some, but I probably should've written this right after the show and so my memory is a tad fuzzy. In anycase, I loved the entire show - but the highlights for me were "My night with the prostitute from Marseille", "Cherbourg" and "The Shrew". The first and last one, because they're from the new split EP. In addition, the first one, on the EP is largely electronic, but when they played it live, they managed to arrange it so that it could be played on the accordion and it was just a really cool arrangement.



The Shrew is my favorite on the "March of the Zapotec" side and I really enjoyed how in the second half of the song, everyone was clapping. It made it really festive.
As for Cherbourg, it's the song I've been playing most by them lately. So yay. I was also happy for Scenic World, as it's one of my favorite songs in general :)

The crowd was generally funny. At one point, someone held up a sign saying "Marry my Zach!" and he was playing the trumpet and tried not to smile. But he quirked his brows. In addition, someone in the crowd yelled "You're so sexy when you sweat!!!"

Here are some pics from the show, courtesy of Paw :D :

The only bummer about the night was the fact that it finished so early. This is due to the Jazz Fest programming, because another act was scheduled to play at midnight (Artist of the Year). So, they couldn't really stay and play more (their set was only about 1.5 hours at most).
Hopefully next time they come they'll be able to play longer. All in all though, it was a great show, we had great spots and I now have a new band tee-shirt :P

Greenifying and Live Mocha

I recently finished reading a book called "Sleeping Naked is Green" by Vanessa Farquharson. Basically, a journalist for the National Post living in Toronto embarked ona 366 day mission to make one "green" change each day. The book is about 270 pages and is quite cleverly written, making it quite an enjoyable and easy read. For each month, she lists all the changes she made and goes in detail about some of them, as well as the accompanying experiences.

While doing the challenge, she kept a blog called Green as a Thistle, which she still runs today. While some of the changes are definitely hard to do (unplugging your fridge and not using your oven, especially if you're not living alone and the rest of the inhabitants refuse to play along :P), others are quite do-able. There were also things I didn't know about at all, such as this great site called Free Rice. You basically play a word game and for each answer you get right, 10 grains of rice are donated to countries in need. I linked you to the FAQ, so you see how it works :)

What was also great about the book is after ending her challenge, she decided to see how many changes she kept - which was about 75% of them. This means that it may not be so hard to incorporate some of these into everyday life (which is quite inspiring :D at least to me). While I already make some effort to greenify myself/surroundings, I definitely think I can do more. So, I'll try and use some ideas from her book to see what else I can do.
Here is the total list of things she did.
Of them, I currently do (some of hers don't apply though - for example: I do not have an electric heating pad o_O): 64 which is about 18%
Though, I'm thinking of the applicable ones, I probably do at least 30% :P Anyways, we'll see what can be incorporated :D Should be fun :)

Onto LiveMocha: It's a site that provides 21 free language courses (and other courses you have to pay for). In addition, for the writing and speaking exercises, they are peer reviewed by other users from around the world. You can do the same.
So, since signing up yesterday, I've greatly enjoyed helping people out with their English and French. I also enrolled in a Spanish, German, Russian and Portuguese (Brazilian) course. The first 3, I've had some exposure to. The last, none at all - which explains why I suck in it :) I've also noticed that the Brazilians really like correcting people (or at least me), because my audio submission received 53 comments (of mixed rating :P). I had to turn off the comment notification because my inbox was being massively flooded. I do thank them for their eagerness in helping. The other language submissions received on average 3-4 corrections (though, I got no help from the German speakers :P).

You can also add friends and check others' profiles n such. Oh yeah, and do live chats, if you so wish (I haven't yet).

The site can be rather addictive (well, if you like languages and helping people out). So make sure not to spend too much time on it :P

So, that's it for today. If nothing else, I encourage you guys to play Free Rice :)

Tic Tic Tac

While matlab does some optimization for me, I figured it'd be a good time to do a little update, as it has been a while.

About 3 weeks ago, the drum school I joined in March had a show celebrating the 4th anniversary of its existence. I'm really happy I went because prior to that I hadn't really heard how all the instruments sound together (well, when the people are playing well. In class, everyone is learning, so you're not so sure...haha).
They were joined by other artists who either played with them (guitar, singing, etc), or played when they were taking a break. I only recall Isaac Neto. It was very enjoyable. Everyone at Club Lambi was dancing (and very well I might add). Definitely a good way to get into the festive summer spirit (eventhough it's not summer just yet...)

There were two songs they played that I recognized, as did two friends that joined me that night. So, out of curiosity, I searched for them when I got home.

1) Sergio Mendes - Magalenha


2) Mas que Nada which was done originally by Jorge Ben Jor and later covered by Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66', and later by Sergio Mendes with the Black Eyed Peas quite recently.

The original and the brasil 66' one are like of loungy/slow, so I'm linking to the BEP one because it's more upbeat and resembles the speed that they played at the most I believe. But as far as I remember, at the show they did not sing in english :P

The following week, I participated in a 4 km walk with them supporting the Societe d'Alzeimer's in the South Shore. It was my first time ever performing with them, but I'm also really happy I went (despite being quite nervous). I was able to follow for the most part, though there were some things I hadn't learned yet. My teacher was really cool about it, showing me some things along the way, or just saying not to play something when we clearly hadn't covered it (everyone else there had started before me...at least in august, or before).

The only thing about walking and playing is the drum tends to bump your knees and produce bruises :P but it's ok, they go away and I've had worse injuries, bahaha. I was also happy to meet other people in the group that practice on different days :D Also, the walkers seemed to really enjoy the music. So, good news all around.

One thing that I was told not to play, but that I found cool - I later found out was also done by Sergio Mendes and brasil 66' in a song called Batucada (Batucada = a drum troupe):

Only the part before 1:00 was done, or at least part of it...where basically the head teacher did a beat and then the drummers had to respond. The crowd also had to respond by clapping. :D

Another interesting thing about this song -> I tried out this class on Sunday called Zumba - it's a mix of aerobics and many dances, such as salsa, merengue and a bunch more(I'm trying to get back into physical activity, eventhough the doctor said it'll take a total of 10-12 weeks for my ankle to heal -> 5-6 weeks left or so. But anyways, this isn't too high impact. I tried to do some karate stuff at home...and yeah, not such a good idea >_< it hurts quite a bit, lol :P)

During the class, the girl happened to play the Carnaval Batucada song, but the part after the drums :P Actually, the website lists all the songs that they use during the work out, which is awesome!
So one other song I have in my head because of it (I'd heard it back in the 90s, but had no idea what it was - super catchy):

Carrapicho - Tic Tic Tac


The class itself is pretty fun. I wonder if she'll ever do the dance they do in that video though, haha.

My final music related thing - I've been listening to this song for a little while now: Passion Pit - Little Secrets. It's really dancy :D
I learned about them while browsing one of the music blogs. It said if you like MGMT and a few other bands (i forgot), you should like them. And I definitely like MGMT, so I gave it a shot. This song has some elements that remind me of nintendo games.
It's definitely upbeat. I see where the MGMT reference comes from, but they don't sound as disco (at least not as disco as Electric Feel). :)



The rest of the CD "Manners" is not bad, but Little Secrets is definitely my favorite song.

Apart from drumming, optimizing and music listening, I've also been watching "30 Rock" - my new favorite show. Now I have nothing left to watch because I finished season 3. So I'll have to start watching something else, haha. It's awesomely quirky. I just love Kenneth and the dynamic between Liz Lemon and Jack.

Here's are some of my favorite parts from the show:
"Midnight train to Georgia" (yes, Gladys Night happened to appear on that show)

Midnight Train To Georgia - 30 ROCK - watch more funny videos

"Night Cheese"


"The Best of Liz Lemon" (Paw showed this to me just before I started watching the show)


And some stuff from Kenneth:


and last but not least, I saw "Sin Nombre" last Thursday. It's a great movie, albeit depressing.

Here's the trailer:


The music in there is quite good. However, the soundtrack only corresponds to the instrumental stuff...and I'm looking for the non-instrumental (it had accordions!!).
Hopefully a song list will appear soon.

I think that's it :)

Actors sipping tasty hot water

Thanks to Paw's suggestion, I've finally decided to start a sort of tea blog/review. The link is above with all the other blog links - it's called "Tasty Hot Water". The first post describes more or less what I feel like doing with it :)

As for "Actors" - it is the name of the new album by St. Vincent. Paw and I had seen them open for The Arcade Fire on may 13, 2007. The singer used to be part of the Polyphonic Spree (another good band, albeit incredibly cheerful). Anyways, they were really good and I also very much enjoyed their first album, so decided to check this one out.
It is different from the first album in some ways. She still has the same kind of mellow, haunting voice and nice beats. Anyways, definitely an album to check out.

Here is the single and probably my favorite song so far, called "Actor out of work"


I must commend those people for their awesome anger and crying skills. I wonder if the used onions to make them cry...

I recently heard this song (friend sent it to me). It's by Lisa Mitchell - Neopolitan Dreams. It's soooo cute :O the twinkles and her voice.

While looking for a different song, I stumbled upon an Armin van Buuren remix of "Human" by The Killers. It's quite good :D



Apparently there's a CD with a bunch of remixes of "Human". I guess I'll check it out sometime and see if they are as good as this one.

Also, I'm in a little bit of a reggae mood thanks to hearing a Bob Marley song on Saturday (I was at a Philipino Youth Fundraiser. One of the local acts covered "Zimbabwe"). As usual, it's groovy and quite summery. So here you go.