Wednesday, 29 August 2012
archeologie conference Novotel Twinwaters Resort
Archeology conference at Novotel Twinwaters Resort, unique objects artifacts
Brazilian case of UFO visitations
Brazilian case of UFO visitations
Tuesday, 28 August 2012
Sunday, 26 August 2012
Dogville ***half
Dogville ***half
dir. Lars Von Trier
genre: theatre philosophy morality play
Very powerful piece. Star studded piece.
Nicole Kidman is v gd.
I find Lars Von Trier's films are often cruel and grates against your nerves to watch, like so much stupidity, cruelty and the people who would bend to allow such things to happen but these are all very powerful human emotions that he somehow kicks up.
I think, in life there is already many many such cruelty and ugliness, why make them up one more time?
His subject is always ugliness of human nature, how people are forced into being selfish, ugly, cruel, scheming, sadic, arrogant (the more "forgiving you are of bad things done to you the more arrogant you are"), mistrust, small town, the smaller the tighter the worst, big cities are bad, so are small towns, the ugliness is the same, its within human beings.
The scenario is without much decor - like Pekin Operas with minimal furniture, a lot depends on narrations, description from a voice off narrator.
I thought right from the beginning this girl is either a concubine or lover or daughter of a gangster. She is no ordinary runaway. And here she is, she is either in the gangster world or in the other equally ugly ordinary people's world.
She had this dog collar w a metal wheel and chain to show she is truly enslaved to the last drop. Very powerful piece.
The last movie I saw of Lars Von Trier was the one with Kirsten Dunst - Melancholia. Equally stunning.
Even though I don't like his films, because it is often hard to watch, I must say, they are great works with a wide vision and not at all pointillist.
Saturday, 25 August 2012
Machinima: Inside Katati's shop, w Kowloon King Graffitti wall paper
Machinima:
Inside Katati's shop, w Kowloon King Graffitti wall paper
Friday, 24 August 2012
THE BIG PICTURE – New Concepts for a New World; Being Kind to People Agenda
THE BIG PICTURE – New Concepts for a New World; Being Kind to People Agenda 2012
Swannjiejie
The Sweet Hereafter (De Beaux Lendemains) Atom Egoyan
The Sweet Hereafter (De Beaux Lendemains): 1997
director: Atom EgoyanGenre: romantic intrigue humanist
Bus accident, who's fault? Many people in the story and each one has its own problems.
The lawyer, with a drug addict daughter. The driver, a religious loving caring woman with a police man handicapped probably from a stroke. The good "hippie" couple with an adopted son in the accident they live in a teepee style wood construction house with nature style earthy cloth and photos, drawings, artisanat, beautiful day light washing in from the triangular window - the couple with an obese obtuse man and a high strung gd looking wife - she sleeps w a truck driver - his two children also killed in the accident. He was following the bus, he could testify to the speed of the bus, at 72miles/hour, but for reasons unknown he doesn't want to. So the only survivor a talented singer with his super dad, testifies, she lied about the speed. She said its 110miles/hour. Over speeding, so not the fault of the bus. Why? Because her father wants the money for compensation for the loss of her future career as musician... she thinks because of that she doesn't want him to have it. Also there was a scene where he kissed her on the lips on the sofa - not an ordinary father and daughter relationship.
Each scene is carefully, softly woven together with many details, music delicately to match the events happening linking one event to the other. Some naked women scenes but shown in a natural way, not pornographic, nor even erotic. Everything is natural.
Such is life, one thing leads to another, each person does things for their own reason.
And nothing is perfect.
The snow scene in Canada is sublime. And who would want to live in such a place? Wilderness, clean air, but stuffy in the social fabric. Small towns with limited visions, non acceptance of the "other" even though they can't think of anything wrong w the "other".
This film won 100% evaluation from Rotten Tomato critics. It is a delicate tapestry, but like so many delicate tapestries in the world, it doesn't go beyond the present.
I find this film slightly too ngan ngan.
Machinima cnn report
http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2012/05/23/ts-machinima-video-games.cnnmoney/
Thursday, 23 August 2012
tig welding info
http://www.metabricoleur.com/t814-soudage-des-aciers-courantsinox-des-alliages-d-aluminium-au-tig-tungsten-inert-gas
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
THE BIG PICTURE – New Concepts for a New World; Hedonist Agenda
For the Big Picture- New Concepts for a New World 2012, Linz Austria
Urban Agriculture is the big thing coming for Toronto, and maybe already elsewhere, we think.
For a long time many many years ago, I have noticed in our downtown annex area, people grow vegetables on their front lawns. These are beautiful Chinese vegetable gardens. Chinese immigrants often grow vegetables of their own on their property, front and back. In other areas of the city you probably won't see that so often. Only in new younger new age type of neighborhoods do you see front vegetable gardens.
I saw one such beautiful garden on Kennedy and DeForest in the Runnymede area, next to High Park. Neighbours could complaint about vegetable gardens on the front lawn. If that happens you would have to remove the garden by law. By law, you are not allowed to keep chickens too. Maybe two, for pet use.
Sometimes i see squatting vegetables gardens in street flower planters. I think having a green lawn for display may have been a traditional of "green carpet" big property to help display the house concept? Grass, lawns are luxury type of land use, no food value, and no financial gain possibility. Even flower fields are "purpose laden" for high profits.
Belgium has prospered after the war from Begonia planting, and also green house Orchid imports from Indonesia. And in Paris, often, public gardens are very green, but, a police would jump out from somewhere to tell people to get off the grass, and that, grass is not for sitting, but for viewing.
So, our front lawn has always been designed to be for that, viewing purpose. Now, some younger people decided to grow vegetables - because all plants being equal, a vegetable plant is just as "viewable" as grass. On top of it, you could eat it!
At the Urban Agriculture Summit in Toronto, there were many agendas.
Some people want to help others supplement their daily diet with fresh vegetables because they couldn't afford to buy fresh vegetables. This is the "Helping hand" agenda.
Then, the business men agenda, rent some roofs and grow your vegetables, supply it to fancy restaurants. New farmers who could get to do their farming job, they enjoy it and they also get to live in the city. They wouldn't want to have to live in a faraway lost country side without any cinema, restaurants, clubs, all the urban facilities in big cities. This is the "Roof top urban farmer" agenda. To help it run, they also used volunteers, non paying manpower.
Then, there is the community agenda, people do gardening together on a city plot. This creates a social space for a healthy nature related activity. This would be the "Mental Health and Well Being" agenda.
Then, there is the "Eat good food", "revitalizing derelict inner city" agenda. This category involves raising worms, getting composting closing a loop for ecology, recycling as a part of lowering global warming solution. This is the "Green" Agenda.
My agenda for growing things-plants, fish, birds, turtles, animals - is "hedonist", the "Hedonist" agenda.
I like to grow things, even just tiny trials, like sprouting lentil beans for own use. Or growing purple sweet potatoes because I dont see them in super markets often enough. Now that I have seen the Will Allen talk, actually, I think I should first grow worms. His message is that good food is all about having good soil. Good soil comes from natural workers like worms. Red Wriggler worms.
So I begin with a small bucket of worm. Thanks to "Food Share" of Toronto, Mike Neven the compost facilitator helped me put together a bucket of worms with bedding etc. I will see how that goes.
In year 2006, after one summer of zero attention gardening - let grow, live or die style - i got three fingers of purple sweet potatoes! (Wouldn't say I am the greatest gardener yet, but even at this minimum input of effort and minimum output of crop, what joy!)
Happiness!!
My agenda is to grow things that I find fun, beautiful or delicious.
Its the "Hedonist agenda".
Urban Agriculture is the big thing coming for Toronto, and maybe already elsewhere, we think.
For a long time many many years ago, I have noticed in our downtown annex area, people grow vegetables on their front lawns. These are beautiful Chinese vegetable gardens. Chinese immigrants often grow vegetables of their own on their property, front and back. In other areas of the city you probably won't see that so often. Only in new younger new age type of neighborhoods do you see front vegetable gardens.
I saw one such beautiful garden on Kennedy and DeForest in the Runnymede area, next to High Park. Neighbours could complaint about vegetable gardens on the front lawn. If that happens you would have to remove the garden by law. By law, you are not allowed to keep chickens too. Maybe two, for pet use.
Sometimes i see squatting vegetables gardens in street flower planters. I think having a green lawn for display may have been a traditional of "green carpet" big property to help display the house concept? Grass, lawns are luxury type of land use, no food value, and no financial gain possibility. Even flower fields are "purpose laden" for high profits.
Belgium has prospered after the war from Begonia planting, and also green house Orchid imports from Indonesia. And in Paris, often, public gardens are very green, but, a police would jump out from somewhere to tell people to get off the grass, and that, grass is not for sitting, but for viewing.
So, our front lawn has always been designed to be for that, viewing purpose. Now, some younger people decided to grow vegetables - because all plants being equal, a vegetable plant is just as "viewable" as grass. On top of it, you could eat it!
At the Urban Agriculture Summit in Toronto, there were many agendas.
Some people want to help others supplement their daily diet with fresh vegetables because they couldn't afford to buy fresh vegetables. This is the "Helping hand" agenda.
Then, the business men agenda, rent some roofs and grow your vegetables, supply it to fancy restaurants. New farmers who could get to do their farming job, they enjoy it and they also get to live in the city. They wouldn't want to have to live in a faraway lost country side without any cinema, restaurants, clubs, all the urban facilities in big cities. This is the "Roof top urban farmer" agenda. To help it run, they also used volunteers, non paying manpower.
Then, there is the community agenda, people do gardening together on a city plot. This creates a social space for a healthy nature related activity. This would be the "Mental Health and Well Being" agenda.
Then, there is the "Eat good food", "revitalizing derelict inner city" agenda. This category involves raising worms, getting composting closing a loop for ecology, recycling as a part of lowering global warming solution. This is the "Green" Agenda.
My agenda for growing things-plants, fish, birds, turtles, animals - is "hedonist", the "Hedonist" agenda.
I like to grow things, even just tiny trials, like sprouting lentil beans for own use. Or growing purple sweet potatoes because I dont see them in super markets often enough. Now that I have seen the Will Allen talk, actually, I think I should first grow worms. His message is that good food is all about having good soil. Good soil comes from natural workers like worms. Red Wriggler worms.
So I begin with a small bucket of worm. Thanks to "Food Share" of Toronto, Mike Neven the compost facilitator helped me put together a bucket of worms with bedding etc. I will see how that goes.
Happiness!!
My agenda is to grow things that I find fun, beautiful or delicious.
Its the "Hedonist agenda".
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Monday, 20 August 2012
worm farm
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZX_JDkiwhOc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
set up worm farm
set up worm farm
Sunday, 19 August 2012
purple sweet potato
from old blog: xanga.aalicex
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
purple yam first harvest after one summer of great expectation - this is all we got! from 5 slips! but we are so happy to see this little yam - its amazing - really we tried to grow this yam from 2 little yams that we bought off the market - more exciting than getting flower seeds from specialty stores - like real life happening.
purple yam first harvest after one summer of great expectation - this is all we got! from 5 slips! but we are so happy to see this little yam - its amazing - really we tried to grow this yam from 2 little yams that we bought off the market - more exciting than getting flower seeds from specialty stores - like real life happening.
Chaumont sur Loire Garden Festival 2012
http://www.domaine-chaumont.fr/index-en.php?page=festival-visite&scat=5b&cat=5&expandable=3
Chaumont sur Loire Garden Festival 2012
Chaumont sur Loire Garden Festival 2012
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
Tickets ***half
Tickets ***half
Olmi, Koarostrami, Loach
Story of a train with all kinds of people on it. They intertwine and make up a superb funny humanist movie. Nobody is all good and nobody is all bad.
Generals wife, fat, spoilt, unreasonable, demanding - the way she speaks is so familiar to me, sounds just like some people I know. Teenage girls, young man, handsome and lovable, to accompany as helper to the generals wife. Albanians, a young boy, the football fans taking a liking to the boy, they offer him sandwiches - from the supermarket where they work, lots of them, different flavors to last the whole football fan event. They speak rough and no-culture with lots of fucking in every phrase. Very funny and endearing in the end. They tried to pick up some Italian girls, but was just tolerated, and when the girls got off, they all have boy friends or girl friends; we knew from the start, there won't be any romance. They asked if they could sleep at the girls place. Very innocent, naive people. They figured out the Albanian boy stole one train ticket while they were being nice to him... in the end, the mother explained that, they were ripped off by the immigrant thugs... etc etc. So, film jump to the end, the police comes and arrests the celtique football fans - and they just took a run after they see, yes, the Albanians are not thieves they were just trying to make their way... so they also ran and jeered at the train controller that - he never farted without staying within the rules... etc etc... funny, vitality with realities framing the whole story. Every character in the film seem like real people, they don't look like the typical beauties, no Monica Belluci belles here... but humans with their lovable sides and not so lovable sides. All mixed together. The guy who accused the generals wife of stealing his phone was wrong and she just refuse to show him her phone etc... because she is the generals wife. Basta! (But he too just helped her take her bags off the train, because her helper had enough of her and just disappeared)
so on so forth.
Fast paced, we just want to know whats going to happen next?
Olmi, Koarostrami, Loach
Story of a train with all kinds of people on it. They intertwine and make up a superb funny humanist movie. Nobody is all good and nobody is all bad.
Generals wife, fat, spoilt, unreasonable, demanding - the way she speaks is so familiar to me, sounds just like some people I know. Teenage girls, young man, handsome and lovable, to accompany as helper to the generals wife. Albanians, a young boy, the football fans taking a liking to the boy, they offer him sandwiches - from the supermarket where they work, lots of them, different flavors to last the whole football fan event. They speak rough and no-culture with lots of fucking in every phrase. Very funny and endearing in the end. They tried to pick up some Italian girls, but was just tolerated, and when the girls got off, they all have boy friends or girl friends; we knew from the start, there won't be any romance. They asked if they could sleep at the girls place. Very innocent, naive people. They figured out the Albanian boy stole one train ticket while they were being nice to him... in the end, the mother explained that, they were ripped off by the immigrant thugs... etc etc. So, film jump to the end, the police comes and arrests the celtique football fans - and they just took a run after they see, yes, the Albanians are not thieves they were just trying to make their way... so they also ran and jeered at the train controller that - he never farted without staying within the rules... etc etc... funny, vitality with realities framing the whole story. Every character in the film seem like real people, they don't look like the typical beauties, no Monica Belluci belles here... but humans with their lovable sides and not so lovable sides. All mixed together. The guy who accused the generals wife of stealing his phone was wrong and she just refuse to show him her phone etc... because she is the generals wife. Basta! (But he too just helped her take her bags off the train, because her helper had enough of her and just disappeared)
so on so forth.
Fast paced, we just want to know whats going to happen next?
Urban Agriculture Summit, Toronto, Aug15-18, 2012
Urban Agriculture Summit, Toronto, Aug15-18, 2012
Talks and presentations that I attended
Day 1
Toured "Growing Food, Growing Health - Rooftop Healing Garden and Greenhouse Tour"
The ex YMCA building was renovated or reincarnated into a cheerful and clean, Canadian building. People are very happy inside. I liked the Long House on the ground floor and the roof top sweat lodge. Our host kindly took us around to see the various aspects of the interior architecture, and did a simple smudging rite for all of us. It was very nicely presented. The incense they used was white sage. The insense smelled a bit like Chinese pomelo skin. She said sometimes they do "power smudge" this means its a quicky sign into the air and thats sufficient. Its very nice. The kitchen counter below had a counter made of very beautiful niagara escarpment stone plaque. The same stone was used in some buildings at Ryerson.
Then we went to the Wychwood Barn, where community garden was presented as a therapeutic space. The three girls who presented the space were very nice. But I wonder who would want to come do gardening if its announced as "therapeutic"? Why can't they just say its for relaxation and fun? It would cheer the whole place up and not make it so heavy. The way it was explained, it made the place institutional and structured. There were multicultural community gardens, Chinese gardens, Italian Tibetan, Polish, etc etc... all giant size flowers and magnificent. Chinese garden looked like any front yard in the Annexe area, with purple mint, some tomatillo, some kind of peas. Italian had fig, tomatoes etc etc. All typical of the ethnic food vegetables and there were phone numbers you could call to listen to the stories linked to the garden. Its an art project that seems fun. The biggest draw is not the multimedia art but the vegetables themselves!
In the afternoon I saw the talk by Ben Flanner on Introduction to Rooftop Urban Agriculture Course. Everybody had to present themselves. I said I was a free lance writer for glossy magazines and i like to grow things.
Here is a sample of what I grew a few years back, purple sweet potatoes - after one summer, i got three fingers of roots and lots of leaves, I had done nothing to water, no weeding, did nothing and what excitement to see there was something growing! We ate the leaves - sweet potato leaves are v nice greens. The roots, are jewels that we displayed.
Also, I am visiting prof in Taiwan. Little do i know because of what i said here, I found two very charming young people from Louisianna - Carla Sue and Kyle Craig - who came to speak to me later - 3 days later - of their horticulture passion and their love of Taiwan.
Human pee/night soil for fertilizer
I was puzzled by the conference that everybody talked about fertilizer making rich soil, "closing the loop" in eco cycles etc, but nobody mentioned about very obvious and well known ancient practice of using human pee/night soil for fertilizer - is it not good? Could it be in our modern day, we are so full of poison already that our own "produce" is not good enough? Or is it just general squeamishness to do with this slightly too earthy way of approaching things?
In the evening was the FoodShare First Nation food Neighbourhood Garden Party. It was truly nice, I like their garden next to the school with two wooden lawn chair, and the vegetable garden was a little wild - beautiful the way it is.
Grilled fresh corn, and many other little special hors-d'euvre type sandwich, petits mets. But most lovely was the maple syrup molasses wrapped around a 5 year old white cheddar cube. Its a one mouthful at a time snack. Very very good! Many people showed up, the gym was full of people! Wild berries with yogurt and granola... etc etc. and the sun was setting we all sat outside on the garden lawn chairs. Very nice.
Took many pictures.
There is something very convivial in the air.
Day 2 Thurs 16Aug2012
Listened to Will Allen who wrote a book on Growing Power. He is a very good speaker, full of vitality and common sense. He researched a red wriggle worm, cultivated a quick way of producing good compost for high quality soil. The taste of food is in the soil, he repeated many times during his talk. And the soil is what makes the difference. He is growing soil. He showed little children with two hands full of wriggling worms. His strategy for revitalizing dead vacant lots and driving drug dealers away from derelict lots is magnificent. It truly shows energy, commitment, and results. Its hard to not like him. I asked to have a photo with him - which i rarely do with even v gd speakers. And when I stood next to him, I realized he's a giant size guy, my head comes to his armpits... so to speak. Anyway, he was very kind and experienced with people asking to have pictures taken with him, i suppose. :)
Hats off to him!!
Netherlands policy for greening the land.
Trade show had many types of new agriculture planting furnitures, hanging pots, folding staircase for vertical walls, soil, new teas, everything.
Book signing at city hall.
Dinner buffet was different kinds of dips w radish, celery, carrots, loose bits of breads, tiny pita pouches, berries, skewers of tomatoes and cucumbers courtesy of Lufa farm. V gd.
Visited City Hall green roof top.
Had to leave early.
Day 3 17Aug2012
Growing and Selling World Crops in the City
nice how to grow book, by a charming young lady presenter, Emily Van Halem, www.worldcropsproject.posterous.com.
Chinese veggie new farmer Amy Cheng of Red Pocket farm, http://www.redpocketfarm.com/ showed her crops and talked about her Chinese food culture background and how it works w her farm lot at Downsview park. Very good.
Coffee, excellent banana bread, cookies by food team of the conference.
The Art of Edible/Medicinal Public Garden
Topher is a an experienced pro, she explained about the conception, the funding source, where to get funding. But above all her resources of getting the commissions are based on long term personal work relations which dates from when she started out at 20 - over 40ish years, she is amongst the few who has gained support from friends in right places. Answered questions very skillfully. I enjoy this presentation very much. Her work is prim and proper. Humorous at times, human and everyday. Though I didn't see why we use glass for Mulch on planters and the overall installation is rather cold and not very friendly to plants. There was a formality in the giant size pots and graphics, but the space is not at all warm and the space has very little vegetation charm.
I have visited many times the french Chaumont-sur-Loire Garden Festival over the years, and this type of installations are in the vein of contemporary art + gardening. Often, the standard installation by installation artists are a conceptual formalist idea - without anything sympathetic to plants. It is intended as a visual post card type formal esthetic display - whether you like it or not - and set in a style of arid formality. There is a problem when a garden is made for one season and then destroyed of the next. That is why you get "window display" type of work. Whereas a real landscape artist would work out the plants and these, I often wish could stay for several seasons so that we could see the growth and changes.
Maybe there is some issue with maintenance? If you have no maintenance your garden won't be able to last, hence you get an arid low maintenance mummy styled display.
However, i like the way she talked about her medicinal garden where people come up to inspect the produce - even take them home!! Its good that its on the sidewalk and is very accessible. And when you have people interacting, then that is a living garden!
I like the idea of an Accessible Edible/Medicinal public garden.
Summit closing ceremony, and BBQ at the Wychwood barn.
Ryerson has changed from a Technical College to a beautiful University.
Story of the Giant Elk -
Mr. Patrick Nadjiwan, a First Nation Canadian (here: some background stories about First Nation Canadians) closed the event with a simple story about food and a prayer. He also did smudging for the 4 people on the podium - because he couldn't do that for everyone because there is no time and besides - he joked - it would set the fire alarm off. :)
He told the story of how the government had some land reserved for his people by the great lakes. This land was also very nice and used for important people to do hunting every now and then. One day, the prime minister/premier was supposed to come hunting, so somebody planned to have a giant size elk so that there would be this elk to be hunted - as there were no elks in the area normally - so they flew the elk in for the hunt. But the previous night, the people decided to go do food gathering and they saw this giant size elk never seen before and hunted it, hauled it home for food. Next day when the prime minister came to do the hunting, he didn't find his elk.
Then we all waited to hear the rest, the audience of around 300 people of multi ethnic colors in this great hall, he continued and said, well just thought I would share this with you. :)
I think this is such a great story and concludes very well the 3 day conference.
Wychwood barn had very nice beer, ice cream, hamburger, grilled corn and v nice tall ceiling space, where people could sit leisurely. Its a fine evening.
And I left thinking, yes, this is a very successful conference.
I should grow something on my balcony and make a v detail record of my Urban Agricultural Efforts.
I would want to grow unusual species - to toil this much I would want to see something very special. It has to be better than what you could buy from Loblaws - in price and quality. Might not even be food.
I might want to grow flowers, medicinal and ornamental plants because people are cheered by beautiful living things. Special bonsais, miniature bamboos etc. Or purple finger sweet potatoes, salt-field green tomatoes, beef heart black tomatoes, jeweled-multi color corns... etc.
I will show you the results next year as I have one season of lead time to do this experiment.
This conference inspired me to go from idea to doing - I came home and talked nonstop about this to my sister- as we have a 300 ft long back yard, enough to tried to grow something, and if I install some vertical planters, that would make it a tiny vegetable garden. However, what to do about bugs, snails, the natural enemy of plants? Will my plants survive these natural little disasters ?
A lady - Maria Kasstan, www.seeds.ca - from seed exchange gave me a how to save seeds pamphlet, I read it on the subway. I didn't know this is how we save seeds! So, I will remember to save good seeds starting today.
Stay tuned!
I will begin with my balcony - start small.
===
20Aug2012
Plants started:
First try in Nov 2006, purple sweet potatoes from a market bought root,
produced 5 slips and over one summer, lots of leaves, and only these
three purple fingers. Planted in some side strip of a 4" earth depth.
Did not look after it at all, its live or die.
The purple sweet potatoes just grew by themselves.
Talks and presentations that I attended
Day 1
Toured "Growing Food, Growing Health - Rooftop Healing Garden and Greenhouse Tour"
The ex YMCA building was renovated or reincarnated into a cheerful and clean, Canadian building. People are very happy inside. I liked the Long House on the ground floor and the roof top sweat lodge. Our host kindly took us around to see the various aspects of the interior architecture, and did a simple smudging rite for all of us. It was very nicely presented. The incense they used was white sage. The insense smelled a bit like Chinese pomelo skin. She said sometimes they do "power smudge" this means its a quicky sign into the air and thats sufficient. Its very nice. The kitchen counter below had a counter made of very beautiful niagara escarpment stone plaque. The same stone was used in some buildings at Ryerson.
Then we went to the Wychwood Barn, where community garden was presented as a therapeutic space. The three girls who presented the space were very nice. But I wonder who would want to come do gardening if its announced as "therapeutic"? Why can't they just say its for relaxation and fun? It would cheer the whole place up and not make it so heavy. The way it was explained, it made the place institutional and structured. There were multicultural community gardens, Chinese gardens, Italian Tibetan, Polish, etc etc... all giant size flowers and magnificent. Chinese garden looked like any front yard in the Annexe area, with purple mint, some tomatillo, some kind of peas. Italian had fig, tomatoes etc etc. All typical of the ethnic food vegetables and there were phone numbers you could call to listen to the stories linked to the garden. Its an art project that seems fun. The biggest draw is not the multimedia art but the vegetables themselves!
In the afternoon I saw the talk by Ben Flanner on Introduction to Rooftop Urban Agriculture Course. Everybody had to present themselves. I said I was a free lance writer for glossy magazines and i like to grow things.
Here is a sample of what I grew a few years back, purple sweet potatoes - after one summer, i got three fingers of roots and lots of leaves, I had done nothing to water, no weeding, did nothing and what excitement to see there was something growing! We ate the leaves - sweet potato leaves are v nice greens. The roots, are jewels that we displayed.
Also, I am visiting prof in Taiwan. Little do i know because of what i said here, I found two very charming young people from Louisianna - Carla Sue and Kyle Craig - who came to speak to me later - 3 days later - of their horticulture passion and their love of Taiwan.
Human pee/night soil for fertilizer
I was puzzled by the conference that everybody talked about fertilizer making rich soil, "closing the loop" in eco cycles etc, but nobody mentioned about very obvious and well known ancient practice of using human pee/night soil for fertilizer - is it not good? Could it be in our modern day, we are so full of poison already that our own "produce" is not good enough? Or is it just general squeamishness to do with this slightly too earthy way of approaching things?
In the evening was the FoodShare First Nation food Neighbourhood Garden Party. It was truly nice, I like their garden next to the school with two wooden lawn chair, and the vegetable garden was a little wild - beautiful the way it is.
Grilled fresh corn, and many other little special hors-d'euvre type sandwich, petits mets. But most lovely was the maple syrup molasses wrapped around a 5 year old white cheddar cube. Its a one mouthful at a time snack. Very very good! Many people showed up, the gym was full of people! Wild berries with yogurt and granola... etc etc. and the sun was setting we all sat outside on the garden lawn chairs. Very nice.
Took many pictures.
There is something very convivial in the air.
Day 2 Thurs 16Aug2012
Listened to Will Allen who wrote a book on Growing Power. He is a very good speaker, full of vitality and common sense. He researched a red wriggle worm, cultivated a quick way of producing good compost for high quality soil. The taste of food is in the soil, he repeated many times during his talk. And the soil is what makes the difference. He is growing soil. He showed little children with two hands full of wriggling worms. His strategy for revitalizing dead vacant lots and driving drug dealers away from derelict lots is magnificent. It truly shows energy, commitment, and results. Its hard to not like him. I asked to have a photo with him - which i rarely do with even v gd speakers. And when I stood next to him, I realized he's a giant size guy, my head comes to his armpits... so to speak. Anyway, he was very kind and experienced with people asking to have pictures taken with him, i suppose. :)
Hats off to him!!
Netherlands policy for greening the land.
Trade show had many types of new agriculture planting furnitures, hanging pots, folding staircase for vertical walls, soil, new teas, everything.
Book signing at city hall.
Dinner buffet was different kinds of dips w radish, celery, carrots, loose bits of breads, tiny pita pouches, berries, skewers of tomatoes and cucumbers courtesy of Lufa farm. V gd.
Visited City Hall green roof top.
Had to leave early.
Day 3 17Aug2012
Growing and Selling World Crops in the City
nice how to grow book, by a charming young lady presenter, Emily Van Halem, www.worldcropsproject.posterous.com.
Chinese veggie new farmer Amy Cheng of Red Pocket farm, http://www.redpocketfarm.com/ showed her crops and talked about her Chinese food culture background and how it works w her farm lot at Downsview park. Very good.
Coffee, excellent banana bread, cookies by food team of the conference.
The Art of Edible/Medicinal Public Garden
The Art of Edible/Medicinal Public Garden
by artist Topher Delaney.
Topher is a an experienced pro, she explained about the conception, the funding source, where to get funding. But above all her resources of getting the commissions are based on long term personal work relations which dates from when she started out at 20 - over 40ish years, she is amongst the few who has gained support from friends in right places. Answered questions very skillfully. I enjoy this presentation very much. Her work is prim and proper. Humorous at times, human and everyday. Though I didn't see why we use glass for Mulch on planters and the overall installation is rather cold and not very friendly to plants. There was a formality in the giant size pots and graphics, but the space is not at all warm and the space has very little vegetation charm.
I have visited many times the french Chaumont-sur-Loire Garden Festival over the years, and this type of installations are in the vein of contemporary art + gardening. Often, the standard installation by installation artists are a conceptual formalist idea - without anything sympathetic to plants. It is intended as a visual post card type formal esthetic display - whether you like it or not - and set in a style of arid formality. There is a problem when a garden is made for one season and then destroyed of the next. That is why you get "window display" type of work. Whereas a real landscape artist would work out the plants and these, I often wish could stay for several seasons so that we could see the growth and changes.
The garden presented here did not provide any room for "messy" human interactions, nor much room for the public to do, say, spending some time to read on a lawn chair in the sun.
Maybe there is some issue with maintenance? If you have no maintenance your garden won't be able to last, hence you get an arid low maintenance mummy styled display.
However, i like the way she talked about her medicinal garden where people come up to inspect the produce - even take them home!! Its good that its on the sidewalk and is very accessible. And when you have people interacting, then that is a living garden!
I like the idea of an Accessible Edible/Medicinal public garden.
Summit closing ceremony, and BBQ at the Wychwood barn.
So finally today was the closing ceremony. It was in the Sears room, high ceiling, beautiful volume and very sober sponsors names not the white bricks as the back drop.
Ryerson has changed from a Technical College to a beautiful University.
Story of the Giant Elk -
hunting of a flown in giant elk designed as an amusement game for The Man, and ended up heavenly food from above for the people.
Mr. Patrick Nadjiwan, a First Nation Canadian (here: some background stories about First Nation Canadians) closed the event with a simple story about food and a prayer. He also did smudging for the 4 people on the podium - because he couldn't do that for everyone because there is no time and besides - he joked - it would set the fire alarm off. :)
He told the story of how the government had some land reserved for his people by the great lakes. This land was also very nice and used for important people to do hunting every now and then. One day, the prime minister/premier was supposed to come hunting, so somebody planned to have a giant size elk so that there would be this elk to be hunted - as there were no elks in the area normally - so they flew the elk in for the hunt. But the previous night, the people decided to go do food gathering and they saw this giant size elk never seen before and hunted it, hauled it home for food. Next day when the prime minister came to do the hunting, he didn't find his elk.
Then we all waited to hear the rest, the audience of around 300 people of multi ethnic colors in this great hall, he continued and said, well just thought I would share this with you. :)
I think this is such a great story and concludes very well the 3 day conference.
Wychwood barn had very nice beer, ice cream, hamburger, grilled corn and v nice tall ceiling space, where people could sit leisurely. Its a fine evening.
And I left thinking, yes, this is a very successful conference.
I should grow something on my balcony and make a v detail record of my Urban Agricultural Efforts.
I would want to grow unusual species - to toil this much I would want to see something very special. It has to be better than what you could buy from Loblaws - in price and quality. Might not even be food.
I might want to grow flowers, medicinal and ornamental plants because people are cheered by beautiful living things. Special bonsais, miniature bamboos etc. Or purple finger sweet potatoes, salt-field green tomatoes, beef heart black tomatoes, jeweled-multi color corns... etc.
I will show you the results next year as I have one season of lead time to do this experiment.
This conference inspired me to go from idea to doing - I came home and talked nonstop about this to my sister- as we have a 300 ft long back yard, enough to tried to grow something, and if I install some vertical planters, that would make it a tiny vegetable garden. However, what to do about bugs, snails, the natural enemy of plants? Will my plants survive these natural little disasters ?
A lady - Maria Kasstan, www.seeds.ca - from seed exchange gave me a how to save seeds pamphlet, I read it on the subway. I didn't know this is how we save seeds! So, I will remember to save good seeds starting today.
Stay tuned!
I will begin with my balcony - start small.
See how far I get.
===
Balcony Urban Agriculture Project 2012
A medicinal garden
worm bins
soil
composting :
20Aug2012
visited Food Share and Mike Nevin kindly helped me start a little "worm house".
Food Share specialist for instructions on setting up "worm house":
email : compost@foodshare.net
Plants started:
coconut tree
purple sweet potato
(investigating, research on other easy to grow things )
===
First try in Nov 2006, purple sweet potatoes from a market bought root,
produced 5 slips and over one summer, lots of leaves, and only these
three purple fingers. Planted in some side strip of a 4" earth depth.
Did not look after it at all, its live or die.
The purple sweet potatoes just grew by themselves.
Ars Electronica Festival 2012 “THE BIG PICTURE – New Concepts for a New World”
Ars Electronica Festival 2012 “THE BIG PICTURE – New Concepts for a New World”
Artists and Speakers beginning soon!!
Music klangwolkeminiaturen
http://soundcloud.com/groups/klangwolkeminiaturen-tracks
Artists and Speakers beginning soon!!
Music klangwolkeminiaturen
http://soundcloud.com/groups/klangwolkeminiaturen-tracks
Monday, 13 August 2012
Oranges and Sunshine***, Sylvia **
Oranges and Sunshine***
2010
The film itself is powerful, has a very important message.
I was very shocked to learn of how England sent off 130,000 children as "migrants" to Australia where they end up not adopted, but housed in windowless underground rooms of 14 children, with one pair of pants, one pair of shoes per year per child. Dank, hot, cold. They were sent to do slave labour without pay. This is a country who sent off their own childen to be molested overseas by the "church" people.
The film showed how a social worker battled to get the history and injustice of the government known. After 23 years of silence they finally apologized and owned up to wrong doings. But, these are grown people now, men and women - they might or might not be able to find their parents in time. People die. There is a life time for everything.
So we see so many moving talks about ending child labour in Africa, in India, - for example in TED - in all these third world countries. and Here we are, England - not third world - in the 50s how the government sent these children to Australia. The movie did not mention what benefits the government officials received - this is a puzzle that might proved to be even worst than what we see in the film but remained in black boxes - and why both sides , England and Australia adopted the mouth closed stance? And how did it all began?
The boys were almost all molested by the church people, or couples who are good church people... and then bring the children to a bathroom and ... almost the same story with all the male characters.
The girls did not talk about their fate in such detail but the housing condition and laundry facilities.
In fact, of all the church charities works that I have known, those do-gooders are in a category themselves - they did not inspire much nobleness in me. This include Buddhist temples, and other types of worship groups - those who do "charities" are people to be aware of - to put it lightly.
Sylvia **
Story of Sylvia Plath played by Gwyneth Paltrow, and Daniel Craig as Ted Hughes.
Gwyneth is way way too pretty, all milk and honey, to be Sylvia, we are distracted by the innocent beauty of the character. The other stunning woman was a former Chanel mannequin, Amira Casar, also star of many films by Catherine Breillat - comparing the two performers, even though Amira has less screen time she gives a memorable performance - we just want to see more of her. Whereas we don't really understand why Sylvia is so strange. Yes, she has some depressive syndromes, but as a character, we are not so sympathetic to her. I like Sylvia's poetry, maybe the film should show this side more to make us understand Sylvia better here, the way it is show - we almost am happy for the Ted character to have managed to get away from this spiritually ephemeral beauty of a wife. The important point is this couple has a special link - they are together as a heavenly match at the beginning but we don't know how this shift happened.
Gwyneth Paltrow is very pretty - but I don't see torment in her performance. Ted - played by current 007 thuggish Bond, didnt come off as a specially charming and sensitive poetic type either.
He wrote a book revealing their relationship 30 years later, "Birthday Letters" - and died soon after. Maybe i will see what this book tells.
The film itself is powerful, has a very important message.
I was very shocked to learn of how England sent off 130,000 children as "migrants" to Australia where they end up not adopted, but housed in windowless underground rooms of 14 children, with one pair of pants, one pair of shoes per year per child. Dank, hot, cold. They were sent to do slave labour without pay. This is a country who sent off their own childen to be molested overseas by the "church" people.
The film showed how a social worker battled to get the history and injustice of the government known. After 23 years of silence they finally apologized and owned up to wrong doings. But, these are grown people now, men and women - they might or might not be able to find their parents in time. People die. There is a life time for everything.
So we see so many moving talks about ending child labour in Africa, in India, - for example in TED - in all these third world countries. and Here we are, England - not third world - in the 50s how the government sent these children to Australia. The movie did not mention what benefits the government officials received - this is a puzzle that might proved to be even worst than what we see in the film but remained in black boxes - and why both sides , England and Australia adopted the mouth closed stance? And how did it all began?
The boys were almost all molested by the church people, or couples who are good church people... and then bring the children to a bathroom and ... almost the same story with all the male characters.
The girls did not talk about their fate in such detail but the housing condition and laundry facilities.
In fact, of all the church charities works that I have known, those do-gooders are in a category themselves - they did not inspire much nobleness in me. This include Buddhist temples, and other types of worship groups - those who do "charities" are people to be aware of - to put it lightly.
Sylvia **
Story of Sylvia Plath played by Gwyneth Paltrow, and Daniel Craig as Ted Hughes.
Gwyneth is way way too pretty, all milk and honey, to be Sylvia, we are distracted by the innocent beauty of the character. The other stunning woman was a former Chanel mannequin, Amira Casar, also star of many films by Catherine Breillat - comparing the two performers, even though Amira has less screen time she gives a memorable performance - we just want to see more of her. Whereas we don't really understand why Sylvia is so strange. Yes, she has some depressive syndromes, but as a character, we are not so sympathetic to her. I like Sylvia's poetry, maybe the film should show this side more to make us understand Sylvia better here, the way it is show - we almost am happy for the Ted character to have managed to get away from this spiritually ephemeral beauty of a wife. The important point is this couple has a special link - they are together as a heavenly match at the beginning but we don't know how this shift happened.
Gwyneth Paltrow is very pretty - but I don't see torment in her performance. Ted - played by current 007 thuggish Bond, didnt come off as a specially charming and sensitive poetic type either.
He wrote a book revealing their relationship 30 years later, "Birthday Letters" - and died soon after. Maybe i will see what this book tells.
Sunday, 12 August 2012
art ressources for student
http://www.art2day.co.uk/
art for .... enjoyment by students for students of all ages
Saturday, 11 August 2012
A Single Man ***half
A Single Man ***half 2009
Very beautiful esthetic film with interesting and intelligent dialogue. Set in the 60s, every frame is a visual elegance of cool grey, brown tones.
The story about a homosexual professor who has measured passions, gets along well with ex's, both men and women. Who contemplates suicide due to the loss of his partner. Delicate, he does not necessarily pay someone to have "requests", altogether totally honorable in body and spirit. What, how he does he come to be the professor ? The character somehow lacks depth - we understand his emotional turmoil, but I am not too convinced in this professors-in-literature role, because someone in this field should be capable of more intricate mental acrobatics; much more than what we are allowed to see. Or should we believe professors are easy just skins that anyone could wear?
What kind of professor could he have been? If he were a so-so professor, we would have much less sympathy for him. Just like, if he were not well to do, not polite, not handsome, and not intelligent; this character becomes very banal.
The missing part is maybe, with all these attractive qualities, how could he have deployed them to make himself swim up and out of his hole? If he didn't even try... then, something else needs to explain why he didn't try.
Very beautiful esthetic film with interesting and intelligent dialogue. Set in the 60s, every frame is a visual elegance of cool grey, brown tones.
The story about a homosexual professor who has measured passions, gets along well with ex's, both men and women. Who contemplates suicide due to the loss of his partner. Delicate, he does not necessarily pay someone to have "requests", altogether totally honorable in body and spirit. What, how he does he come to be the professor ? The character somehow lacks depth - we understand his emotional turmoil, but I am not too convinced in this professors-in-literature role, because someone in this field should be capable of more intricate mental acrobatics; much more than what we are allowed to see. Or should we believe professors are easy just skins that anyone could wear?
What kind of professor could he have been? If he were a so-so professor, we would have much less sympathy for him. Just like, if he were not well to do, not polite, not handsome, and not intelligent; this character becomes very banal.
The missing part is maybe, with all these attractive qualities, how could he have deployed them to make himself swim up and out of his hole? If he didn't even try... then, something else needs to explain why he didn't try.
Thursday, 9 August 2012
中国的麦田圈, google earth of all crop circles around the world
Hollywood, I am sleeping over tonight.
Hollywood, I am sleeping over tonight.
film: Antoine de Maximy
Wednesday, 8 August 2012
Sunday, 5 August 2012
Max Moswitzer+Chris Marker: Machinima "The Third Cat", New World Notes
From New World Notes by James Wagner Au.
http://vimeo.com/mosmax
http://vimeo.com/mosmax
Friday, August 03, 2012
Watch "The Third Cat", Second Life Machinima Created by Max Moswitzer in Collaboration with Chris Marker Just Before "La jetee" Creator Died
As Chris Marker approached the age of 90, the French artist whose short Le jettee is often considered one of the greatest movies ever made, spent the last years of his life experimenting with a new medium: machinima. This weekend, why not watch "Third Cat", one of the final works Marker was involved with; he died last weekend at the age of 91. Shot in Second Life, where Marker spent some of his waning days, it features his alter ego, an orange cat, and a Barack Obama avatar. Yes.
"The Third Cat" was created by Max Moswitzer, a Viennese artist, in collaboration with Marker (who declined credit on the final work). "It was a good example of how I collaborate with Chris," Moswitzer tells me. "I was in a flat in Paris for 10 days, and did the recording and sent the rushes via mail to Chris overnight, he made comments and suggestions." The orange cat, as I said, is an avatar-based translation of Marker's alter ego, commissioned by the artist, named Guillaume-en-egypte. During development, Max effectively conducted virtual location scouting in Second Life for Marker: "I sent him screenshots and [SL] landmarks of possible scenes where Guillaume-en-Egypte and I inspected locations for the movie." After editing was done, Marker chose the music to accompany the machinima.
With his help on "Third Cat" and with an SL machinima Marker made, Ouvroir, Marker became one of the few world class filmmakers to experiment with machinima, alongside Peter Greenaway in that regard.
But what's with Guillaume-en-Egypte meeting the President?
"I knew that when Obama was getting the Presidency," Max explains from Vienna, "it was the last good news, a hope for the world."
As for Chris Marker, he finally got to meet the artist himself before he died, sharing some vodka during a real world exhibition of Marker's SL work. In any case, Max Moswitzer says this about the artist's death:
"In my sense Chris did not die, he is immortal. He staged his own death and lives now somewhere in the countryside in France." In any case, the virtual memories of Chris Marker live on: "On the other side there is Guillaume-en-Egypte, who just started his journey in the virtual worlds, with whom I am still in contact with Chris."
Hat tip: Redditor DoctorVainglorious
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