perks

Despite being an intern, and therefore the lowest on the totem pool, I still get pretty cool opportunities at my internship. Yesterday, for example, I got to interview and do a photo shoot with Justice. Full story and photos to come when the issue is released in December.

why gg is much more than just hot teenagers making out and plotting against each other

I adore Gossip Girl.

Although I usually can't relate to the lifestyles of the privileged, teenaged, Upper East Siders, nor to the drama that unfolds within them, I get a great deal of pleasure out of watching the show. I usually curl up next to my laptop with a sliced apple and some melted peanut butter (for dipping) and enjoy the 40 minutes of fictional drama.

I particularly loved last night's episode, titled Pret-a-Poor-J. One of the plot lines followed 15-year-old Jenny Humphrey as she began to shmooze with models, creepy Cobrasnake-esque photographers, Cory Kennedy look-alikes, and the Nylon extended social circle. Without giving away too much of the plot, I found it really interesting how the show reflected the way our photo-obsessed generation is gradually beginning to function.

The best advertisement—be it for fashion or just the self-promotion of one's party persona—is being visible, whether it be in attendance of parties, or mediated through social networking arenas or the site of one party photographer or another.

Despite being guilty of chronically photographing others, I still believe that there should be limits to how many photos are taken, and in what context. Most importantly, they should be taken with the permission of the subject or, you know, of her parents if she's underage and topless. I think the issues that were raised in yesterday's episode were very relevant for a large part of its viewership: girls in their teens, surrounded by cameras as they are.

I appreciate Gossip Girl's efforts to stay current, and to incorporate witty pop culture references, new and emerging uses of technology, and aspects of contemporary youth culture that are unique to right now. In this way, it's as much a period piece about aspects of our generation as Mad Men is of the advertising world in the '60s . And it's really just fun to watch.

on the last warm day of october

A special thanks to Kate for the Shu Uemura fake eyelashes!

chameleon

This is Eddi, and she is a true chameleon. For our shoot, we decided to play with gender, something which Eddi—as a professional drag king—is well acquainted. When I emailed her asking if she would be willing to let me transform her into 2 different old Hollywood era characters (one male and one female), she was totally enthusiastic.

Now, I'm the first person to champion the power (and, for me, the fun) of makeup. It can truly reshape the face, and help a person get into character. But no one would ever attribute an oscar-winning acting performance to the makeup an actor wore. For example, although The Joker's makeup was incredible, we all know it was the late Heath Ledger in who creepy makeup that gave the accomplished performance. In short, makeup can add to a performance, but a performer it does not make.

Despite knowing this, I was truly blown away by the combination of the makeup and Eddi's performance. I wish you all could have seen her transformation in person; from swaggering to tip-toeing, she bounced from performing one gender to another. I hope, however, that these few photos give you a hint of the talent she possesses.*

as character one:





...and as character two:





and the two together:


*On top of her performance abilities, the logistics of the transformation were impressive. Girlfriend is well-endowed, and she managed (with the help of some packaging tape) to conceal all traces of her womanly parts to become her man persona. It was fascinating!

fuschia

"It's just a simple flick of the wrist," said Binky, as she taught us to gingerly toss onions and sweet potatoes in a large frying pan.

As she expertly flipped and stirred, tantalizing smells rose from the pots and pans. She patiently and effectively taught us to make the 3 amazing dishes that were part of her cooking lesson. We made a pumpkin soup, black bean cakes with mango-coconut coulis, sweet potatoes and rice, and pears with ricotta, walnuts and chocolate sauce.

During the last year, Binky purchased an incredible general store that had been abandoned and left virtually untouched for decades (see photo above, which I took over a year ago). After auctioning off most of the antique remainders, she renovated it into a cozy and fabulous space that is now her restaurant, Fuchsia.

Last night, I joined a few friends as part of her first trial cooking class. She plans to start offering courses over the next few months that specifically non-vegetarians how to make meals for their veggie-loving partners. The cooks-in-training prepare their meals for 2 hours, then the lucky partners arrive at the restaurant and the couples sit down to eat together.

I'm sure Binky's new idea will be very successful. The course was one of the most fun and interesting things I have done in a long time. Fuchsia's kitchen slightly resembles an apothecary: bags of spices, cans of mango puree, bottles of rose water and lavender extract. Bowls of apple crisp (my all-time favourite food) were resting casually on a counter top, while our glasses of wine were squeezed in between chocolate sauce bottles and maize flour. There were so many awesome things in one place at one time, it was kind of overwhelming.

After we finished cooking the meal, we sat down at one of the restaurant's family-style tables and ate, and ate ... and ate.

Suffice it to say, I highly recommend Fuchsia, and its cooking courses.

photo overload

Exciting news! In a few months time, I will have an official website for my photography. While it is in the works, I am scrambling in my free time to squeeze in as many shoots as possible.

To find new models, I put an add on Craigslist and received an overwhelming response. I'm now fitting in afternoon shoots between French classes and my internship. But it's a race against time as fall sets in and as Canada slowly tilts away from the sun. Afternoons are getting shorter and colder, and daylight savings now is a looming deadline.

This is thus my last call for models in the foreseeable future. If you're in Montreal and might want to work with me in exchange for some free photos, email me at rationalpassion[at]gmail.com.

sisters

giving thanks for

Weather this warm.

because

Inspired by Shuck's odes to NYC, here are some reasons why I love my new neighbourhood:Because jolly (if slightly mafia-esque) older men drive up in SUVs and offer to join in my photoshoots without creeping me out.

Because the main street near me is lined with bakeries and in the morning it smells like a hundred breakfasts baking just for me. Because biking anywhere from here is downhill, and because no one has stolen my borrowed bike. Because everyone paints their doors different colours.

Because the weirdos up here seem less menacing than the ones downtown. Because I don't feel homesick as often here. Because the cupcake shop changed its window display to tombstone, ghost, and rotten apple themed cakes. Because people don't switch to English when they hear my accent.

Because the liquor store guy waited a full minute for me to rustle through my sleepover backpack of clothes to search for my wallet, and then smiled patiently when I found it in my jacket, despite a huge line behind me, and then said, "I understand Saturday nights and women."

a weekend of contrasts

Friday: Book launch for my friend Daniel's novel, Shuck.


From the publisher: "Shuck is the intense, dazzling diary of Jaeven Marshall, a quasi-homeless hustler who seeks his fame and fortune in New York, where he tries to manage his reputation as the city''s porn star du jour when he''s not dumpster diving, tweaking, or trying to get published. "
Saturday: Did a gig doing photography to be used in—get this—a Chinese infomercial for wrinkle cream. I was hired to do the "after" photos. The "before" photos will have wrinkles and dark circles digitally added in by the company who hired me. Everyone knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that cosmetics and skin care ads are totally bogus, but here is proof. I always figured the raw images were just photoshopped to erase the natural contours, lines, and colouration of a face, but I never guessed that wrinkles and discolouration were added! Finding odd jobs on Craigslist has opened a door to an equally fascinating and frightening world.

I did a second shoot on Saturday on my own terms, with Chelsea, and I proudly present these photos, sans post-processing.

Today: Tonight I went to the first meeting of a reading club I just joined. The text du jour was a Chicago Public Radio broadcast called The Devil in Me, and was about peoples' attempts to exorcise their inner demons. If you're in the mood to think about vice, denial, and accountability, it's a recommended listen. I think this group will be good for my post grad school brain, and will perhaps help regenerate some of the brain cells I lost while streaming The Hills during my lunch over the last week.