Babylon

On Saturday, J and I were intent on starting our Christmas shopping. However, we also wanted to take in a bit of culture at the same time. We were in luck. Hidden Art was on and we figured we could pass a few studios on the way down to the East London Design Show which was part of Hiddent Art. (If Hidden Art sounds familiar, I've mentioned it before as we've been we've been a few times before- I wrote about it back in 2007).

We ended up seeing 2 groups shows and the opening of Gerry Juddah's Babylon show at Flower Galleries in Shoreditch. We just happened on the show and felt so lucky to have stumbled on such a powerful show.











I'm not much of a writer or art analyst. Although, I do know when I saw these scultped paintings, I couldn't take my eyes off of them. As you maybe able to see from the photos above, each painting/sculpture shows what appears to be a miniture city (but blown out) and all the details of the cityscape. The stark colours (they were painted white, black or wine/rust) on such a detailed sculpture ensured one would notice the details of the city even more than if the city was painted in technicolour.

If you are in London, try to visit the Flower Gallery. It is definitely worth the visit. The Small is Beautiful Exhibit that was exhibiting upstairs was also a pleasant surprise. Plan to take enough time to explore both.

An Ode to Literature

I discovered this amazing video via our twitter feed at work which thanks to the lovely D and the other team members always has a wealth of fun stuff to distract you from your other duites. So check it out.

Here is a short video that should amaze anyone when you begin to think of the intricate work that went in to making it. I loved it and decided to post it here so I won't forget about it or lose it.

Here is what Creative Review said about it.

Using around 3,000 still images, Andersen M Studio has animated an extract from Maurice Gee's novel, Going West, for the New Zealand Book Council...

Now that you watched it you can appreciate it took 8 months to complete. Beautiful. Let's read books.

Kseniya Simonova: Now she really does "got" talent

Thanks to my friend, Gosia, I was treated to an unexpected treat this evening. She sent a link to the following video out to some of us on her email list. I clicked to YouTube and within 10 seconds I was hooked.

Many of you may have already seen this video from Kseniya Simonova. She was on Ukraine's Got Talent and does she ever. She's 24 and created a series of sand pictures which depicted German's invasion during World War II.

I think it is amazing and in this day of short attention spans; I managed to watch for the whole 8 minutes. I would encourage you to do the same.

A Barbie-licious Birthday

On Sunday night, I attended one of the best birthday parties I've ever attended. And, the best bit was it was a SURPRISE birthday party for me. I was caught off guard because like all surprise parties, there was a lot of secrecy involved. Also, my birthday was the last thing on my mind as I approached my Aunt's home. Remember,

• I was visiting my Aunt's for dinner (natural event as I had not yet seen her since I had come back to Canada)
• my birthday was over 15 days away
• this year is NOT a big birthday
• it wasn't my birthday
  

So, the last thing I was thinking when I walked in to my Aunt's home was that I would be met by all the wonderful women in my family* dressed up as their favourite Barbie waiting for me. Yes, that's right. It was a surprise birthday with a theme - A Barbie Birthday. And this big girl loooved Barbies as a child and was more than happy to partake in this fun-filled craziness.

My first thought was I wouldn't get to dress up as Barbie as I hadn't brought a change of clothes. Boohoo! I'd miss out on the dress up component of this soiree. Oh no! Thanks to my Aunt and her many visits to Value Village I had a wardrobe of clothes & accessories to choose from and felt right at home in my Barbie-wear. [I'll post all the outfits of the evening on my other blog.] However, I wanted to share some of the decor and silliness here that my Aunt Kathy had planned so perfectly.

Here's a few shots of the evening's antics.

Here's the amazing woman behind the craziness
dressed in her Barbie outfit:
yellow polyester pant-suit with wig (which no-one realized it was one)

All of my remaining Barbie stuff made an appearance at the festivities
(including the United Airlines airplane, bungalow and bathtub)

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Here are a few of the presents & cards I received:
Did you notice the 41 year old princess card?

I received a new carry-on suitcase (I think it's my colour).
It's ideal for all my work travel

Turns out it's better built for Barbies than a laptop.

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I also received a new matching handbag (backpack) and wallet.
My cousin embellished the wallet with small hearts

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My family thought this sleeping bag would be perfect to keep me warm on all those Trans-Atlantic flights.
I'm tempted to pull it out on flight back to London on Virgin-Atlantic.

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Given my reputation of being late for events, they felt an alarm clock was in order:

And even more Barbie themed gifts:



Other gifts included a foot-care & massage set (for the days out in heels),
a fun desk emoticon calendar and a Barbie Video.

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Here is the dinner table with guests from the soiree:


This was a special glass for the Princess Barbie (moi).
In fact it was a glass from my grandparent's
50th anniversary over 30 years ago.



My Barbie Pink Cake

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Now for the thank yous. I want to thank everyone for coming to my birthday party and playing along (i.e. dressing up, bringing their Barbie and sharing their Barbie stories). In particular, special thanks to Aunt Kathy for the idea and the organization of the party. Plus a call out to my very own Aunt Barbie (who also happens to have the same last name as Barbie and is married to her very own Ken-- how cool was I growing up?) for hosting the festivities at her home.

Finally, an artsy shot of me in my Barbie attire

PS if you loved Barbie's too, you might enjoy E's post about her Barbie collection.

PSS More photos from the evening can be found on flickr.

*sadly, Julie was sick; Al & Maggie were across the country. Yet, my other sister was there (E)

Dancing Words Coming to a Screen Near Me

I often find myself peering over J's shoulder to see what's happening on his computer screen. Sometimes, I find it filled with designs for anything from chocolate to pitas to dog treats. Other times, I might get a glimpse of a travel company's brochure, signage for a gala event or even a dubstep video.

The last few days have been filled with dancing words for the Bach Festival in Montreal. I maybe biased but I love the idea and the execution. (Watch it full scren and turn up your sound to enjoy)

Montreal Bach Festival 09, English version from Jonathan Howells on Vimeo.

Stella Artois Ad Rips off Retro CBC Logo

CBC Logo Rip OFF
Originally uploaded by praguelondon

Last weekend we spotted this poster in the Tube for Stella Artois. As an aside, I never drink Stella Artois as I was once told that it was rated the worst in blind taste tests. However, the purpose of this post is not to discuss its virtues rather this poster.

The ad as you can see is eye-catchingly retro. It even features a suave French gentleman who definitely pleases my eyes. However, that is not what grabbed our attention. Surprisingly, it wasn't even the classic car for J.

No, it was the old CBC logo that was included in the poster that got our tongues wagging. We just couldn't figure it out. Why would they take an old logo and cut it in to pieces and include it here.



It is the CBC logo isn't it? (here's the 70's logo). Am I missing the idea of the ad? Is it supposed to be recycling old logos? I doubt it. Who in the UK even knows what the CBC is. Any ideas about this ad? Anyone?

Be A Maestro in B Flat

I think the moment this is posted, I'll realize I am about 6 months behind its discovery, but I don't care. I LOVE it.

A bit of background. I work in an office that loves to share. We share commentary (on anything and everything), jokes, websites, technology, DVDs, books, advice, opinions and everything else you can think of. Most days I ignore what is being passed from in-box to in-box. However, tonight I happened to click on what one of my colleagues (who rarely shares) sent around. There was no commentary associated with this link but I clicked anyway.


The link led to a page filled with YouTube video screens. There was a line of text which read "play these together, some or all, start them at any time, in any order" So, I did. And, I loved what happened. I started with 3 screens and then quickly added another and another and another. Wow, I'm a conductor, DJ, producer all in one. So, not only did I get that good feeling of creating, it also gave me something to write about here which I haven't done in a LOOONG time (YYZ-LHR and the MOO Cryptic Quiz have been keeping me busy)

By the way this brilliant idea was conceived by Darren Solomen.
Could someone now break it to me and tell me how out of touch I am with this find.