samba nova dance party

as i mentioned in the last post, i spent about 8 hours at the samba nova concert at the north street church in halifax. samba nova is a group of about 20-30 performers that specialize in brazilian samba music. the dance party was a benefit for one of the late members, Mattieu Keijser, and all the proceeds went to his two children.
the concert hosted numerous other bands playing brazilian samba-jazz, samba-reggae, african influenced music and more. there was even a traditional nova scotian fiddle tune mixed with several brazilian samba drum beats!!! it was definitely a delicious taste for the eyes and ears, and i suppose the body as it was listerally a non-stop dance party!

i was there basically running a canteen that pipa restaurant catered for, but on the off periods i did have the chance to take some photos! this was also my first time shooting an event ANYTHING like this. i have never shot a band or a musical event before. how did i do!?

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a member of samba nova adds a jazzy twist to the traditional percussion based music of carnival samba batucada.

creating a true brazilian carnival feeling, samba nova joins the enthusiastic guests on the crowded dance floor for their final song of the evening

two samba nova members keep the beat while playing an upbeat maracatu song

daniel macneil, of Mas Cencerro, (my personal favourite of the evening, *drool*) brings a delicate and detailed element to the percussion music with the european lute.

dancers took to flat shoes and bare feet for optimum dancing power! during samba nova's dance party benefit on saturday evening.

mainstreaming

since i have been way to busy to upload, edit, or post elaborate blogs. here is one to tide anyone who bothers reading this thing over, and one to make me feel accomplished in my blogging-dedicatedness... (sp?...ha..)

anyways, i just got back from a long, but amazing night at a brazilian samba concert and dance party. i was selling snacks and drinks a la pipa restaurant but got to listen to nearly 7 hours of the most upbeat, incredible dance music you could possibly dream up... but that's another story, on a future post...

SO as i got home at around 1 am i slumped down onto my couch and ofcorse, my younger sister simone had mtv playing. it was the countdown and i finally listened to and watched that whole "telephone" song by lady gaga and beyonce (and the dreadful music video of miley cyrus' EEK) AND found it to be a strangely... strange but appealing video. i can really appreciate a lot of the elements in this video, and its just quirky enough to make it a serious contender. i particularly liked the jail dance scenes.


ANYWAYS the video led me to think of another mainstream video that i actaully have decided is really quite cool, even if it is a bit skanky, but hey, who isn't these days.

the other video is RUDE BOY, by rihanna. okay i lied, maybe she is a BIT more skanky than the average seeing as she agreed (and seems to be enjoying) to sing a song completely dedicated to one man's 'boner', for lack of a better word!

anyways, once you get past the lyrics of the song. the video has a funky pop art urban jungle kind of feel that i am really loving.

a grand celebration

grand celebration, for grand cheif membertou.

as requested i am spreading the word about this fantastic event taking place this summer, near the end of june, in halifax. the city is hosting Membertou 400, an event celebrating the first mi'kmaq or native canadian to be baptised 400 years ago (hardly an event to be celebrated one would think...) with aboriginal tribes coming from across canada for a 4 day event of reenactments, dancing and singing.


the event is directed at celebrating the multiculturalism and diversity of canada and the strong tie we have (or should have) to the natives of this country.

i can't explain how excited i am for this event. pehaps my love began for the native american/canadian culture when i first saw disney's pocahontas.. and then again after that massive mi'kmaq project in grade six (yes, all you sir charles tupper-ers remember that 'ol thing!)

but want to know the best part? legendary buffy sainte-marie will be playing a live concert during the beginning date of the halifax festival venue. yes. buffy sainte marie my friends, AND its free!
anyways i have required a media pass for the event and plan to spend every waking minute at this festival!

so come join me, and thousands others in celebrating important canadian history and taking part in this unique multiculturalism event. the event is free to the public as well, so how could you not! visit or take part: all the information you could need is here!

and to get in the mood, here is a few of the promotional videos for the event, as well as some of buffy's ^_^ (who knew she had such a prominant place on sesame st show!)





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mideval times

slacking in the posting department lately as well. besides being constantly on the go, a lot of it has to do with me shooting in raw, and it being a pain in the but to load and reformat. perhaps ill start shooting in jpeg for these sorts of things it would definitely make my life that much easier/quicker!

anyhow, this beautiful pale blush tone sheer chiffon dress from british topshop makes my life. the clasps on the front, which i have failed to detail remind me of some sort of medieval peasant-y top. and i love every bit of that idea! paired with leather boots, zara black acid wash denim, vintage glasses, and KBG Studio leather bag (i threw on some tassels to give the bag more of a boho look.. i love tassle and fringe anything! ^_^)

delicate finds

some pictures that i enjoy, and that reminded me of each other.
brown background and muted tones?

i have no idea of the artists who are the creators of such lovely pieces. they are random finds.

metallic love

my take on the jcrew collection. blazer, baggy denim shorts paired with what i think just might be my favourite shoes - although they may not look it they are extraordinarily comfy! ^_^

2nd hand blazer & scarf, spring metallic sandals, maltese dichroic glass dragon fly necklace, revamped mason's jeans :P, topshop blouse.

rain rain go away!

ah, yet again, another rainy day in ns. but instead of critisizing the rain.. lets celebrate and embrace what the mainly dubbed as 'awful' weather has done for human nessesity and creativity!
the glittering stars umbrella!
no ordinary, dull umbrella, this umbrella actually twinkels like a nighttime country sky with the help of 3 AAA batteries!

boots! lovely antique toile print boots by diane's little lambs.
we've heard of plenty of things being made by fused together plastic bags, as we continually try to be more eco frinedly and embrace the 3 r's. but none have caught my attention as much as these awesome plastic bag rainboots! they were designed by a student at the Rhode Island School of Design.
they look deliciously comfy! almost like slippers!

you'll fit right in with these fishies on a wet rainy day! ^_^ umbrella by galleria enterprises

new limited edition tokidoki raincoat! oh how cute!


or howabout a unique hybrid: a raincap-umbrella. ahaha okay, just joking. and UFO cap is right.

halifax skyline

halifax's skyline on a bright but dreary day.

taken about 2 weeks ago.

flowers of spring

so, a little slacking on the blogging lately, but i have been excruciatingly busy with the atrium...

we got it finished in time for the "BEST OF" Coast awards party...anyways more on that later. i will post some pictures from the slightly finished 'final' product!

but to get in the mood with this strangely beautiful halifax weather; florals. i love them!
ecote suede leather bag, vintage leather belt (my mothers in the 70's), revamped mason's jeans (yes mason, i hacked them off!), vintage pearl necklace as bracelet.

no one does it like you, marcel.

since im apparently on a 'love of all things canadian' theme.. i might as well keep it up for this next post!
marcel dzama is an incredible artist from winnipeg. his drawings are kinda freakish, but strangely childish and cute. his work seems to consist of plain backgrounds and spashes of vibrant colour or bold figures. i really like this kind of art.. its not quite 'graphic art' but it is extremely eyecatching. many are also whimsical in a dark kind of way.

this is him. how cool ^_^ :

many works include dark themes, ..lots of death, knives, guns, ghosts, blood... and animals associated with death or 'bad' things like bats but.. they are so beautiful! how can this be! but i really love how animals, imaginary subjects, people and objects comingle with eachother in his images.

he has so many wonderful peices.. too many to possibly fit on one blog. so i will put seven (my lucky number!) of some of my favourites i have come across.






good ol marcel has done extremely well for himself and is recognized on an international scale. he is known for his talents across a broad spectrum of media, he even does costume and cover designs for many great bands. he did the costume design for bob dylan's 'when the deal goes down'. what im particularily happy about is that while designing costumes, he also was co-directing the making of the video of the department of eagles 'no one does it like you'. which is probaly one of my favourite songs, (really catchy!) , and possibly favourite bands!

the video is seriously freakin' cool too. just see for yourself!

oh canada - an ode to great canadian music

i think it is slowly becoming apparent to the rest of the world, (or maybe not, but should be! )that canada can make some damn great music. i have already shown my ever lasting love for joel plaskett, but i think part of my love comes from a bias that is solely nova scotian.

i have no connection whatsoever to saskatchewan, but a fantastic artist by the name of michael hanson is the man behind the soothing and relaxing mood of saskatoon band, "THESE HANDS".

after reading much about hanson, i realise that this is the type of musician who truley lives to understand, make, listen, grow and experiement with, music. he appreciates music in a way that i don't think many artists do, and his audible-works-of-art show it. it's also pretty damn impressive for a one man show. anyways, due to lack of accessible videos, or really i think this is the only one, you should check out more of his work on these hands' myspace.



next up: vancouver based band HEY OCEAN! they're notorious for mixing various musical instruments and styles. i think they have mixed the best of acoustic and bongo music, upbeat pop and numerous blues and jazz elements. i particularly love the leads voice - i think thats my favourite style voice for a female singer...

i havn't been keeping tabs on them, but they're apprently doing quite well for themselves! here's one off their 2008 album titled 'its easier to be someone else'.



halifax's ghost bees. two wonderfully talented female artists come together to create an eeirie, japanese influenced, and delicate sound.



and back to the west coast, SAID THE WHALE is a fun indie rock band...okay enough talk, more music.


toronto's tokyo police club. *drool*



howabout some haligonian girl power. the stolen minks with their fantastic all-girl garage punk trio.

ola from portugal

as many know, i was born with a deeply embedded case of the travel bug. i'm not sure how a travel bug comes to be, but i think it might be living in the marrow of my bones or maybe it makes up part of my dna structure.. however it got there it has been sedated for much too long and is starting to awake from its months-long sleep!

i had plans for ethiopia this summer.. unfortunetly the time available to go, is also the worst part of their rainy season so the trip has been postponed, hopefully becoming a possibility for a lovely christmas holiday.

anyhow, when one travel plan slips away another must take its place!

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its strange, because i am usually a last minute, never make plans kind of girl. but when it comes to traveling and certain things, i seem to have extremely well thought out plans far far far in advance!

the ethiopia thing is tricky, especially since it will be needing more funds than many of my trips, and is not solely a 'holiday' but partially a willing volunteering sort of trip, so i knew a back up plan was in order.

here and there i have been learning portuguese, and i have always understood it quite well all my life. but i figure hey, im 20, and i havn't had a REAL conversation with my avos in my entire life. it is about time i learn freakin' portuguese. i feel a strong connection to my portuguese heritage, sometimes i feel much more european than i do canadian anyways...the lifestyle, the culture, the food, the weather...portugal is just so much more appealing.

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anyways to say the least, living in portugal for a few months was my obvious back up plan. my parents and i had always talked about taking portuguese lessons. my mom, before meeting my dad, had done the same. so, it looks as if this is the new plan! and i am equally, if not more, excited about going to portugal instead of venturing into a new country, nay! new CONTINENT!

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this month, my love of all things material (literally, material) and my deep love of portugal and beautiful photography have been combined to produce a magical-like entity. what gave birth to such a beautiful thing you ask? well, perhaps unexpectedly and quite surprisingly (atleast for me) the jcrew summer collection!

featuring the streets of the capital city and my fathers home city, lisboa, here are a few pages/shots from the collection!















the cobble stone roads and sidewalks, the clear blue skies and crisp ocean breeze, the beauty in the ancient and decaying city streets and the happy and airy attitude of the city, i think, have been adequately addressed and portrayed by the collection. the clothes and accesories on the other hand, fit the personality of the city wonderfully. the collection has obvious classic references, dainty and refined elements, redefined vintage/retro takes all mixed up in a swirl of delicate yet cheerful colours that reflect the vibrancy and good nature of the city.


many of the outfits and items could potentially be solid inspiration for my travels to 'the white city.' and i am particularly pleased that penny loafers and desert boots have been given an overdue revival! j.crew.. who knew!

picnic on colour

i have been taking pictures here and there around halifax and south shore.

although its been primarily deary and wet.. every once in a while we get a beautiful day! but no matter what the weather, there always seems to be incredible colours around halifax!

and although the days can be drab, the colour brings a bit of happiness to my heart!

my first week or so in one, colourfully wrapped, partially photojournalistically, sun-shiny nutshell!




lovely spring bloomshalifax waterfront while waiting for sv silva
halifax bengal lancers' lindsay k. takes 'joey' out for a stroll and a tasty grassy treat!
filming of jason eisener's first feature film, "hobo with a shotgun", late night on gottigen st., halifax
outside bengal lancers
argyle st, the popular downtown haligonian street gets a new debut after the final stages of demolition of the chronicle herald building take place. helloooo pipa! and helloooo the cutest, loveliest downtown haligonian strip i ever did see!
local haligonian artists display their work anywhere possible, giving a face lift to a derelict downtown door. (my favourite door in halifax!)

amanda white takes 'inga' out for a treat!
the shores of lunenburg golf course looking extra green against a beautiful blue sky!
nick tabone taking a break on deck after our lovely picnic!

i love banana bikes

okay, well, maybe it's not quite a real banana bike, but it definitely is the color of one!

finally we had a nice, sunny, bright day in halifax (the first since i've been home!) that called for me to bust out the banana bike and take a ride around halifax city. it clearly is also a much more convenient way to get to work...

anyways i picked this bike up for $50 at a buy & sell place in the strip mall right by the bridge in dartmouth. imagine, a beautiful retro cruiser by shwinn for $50. i was a very very happy girl. i have always wanted to have a bright yellow bike, so this was my new project! so i took the navy blue and white stripe bike home, quickly disassembled everything and then, quickly found that the bike's past owner was very cruel to it indeed!

the spokes and brakes and other parts were almost completely rusted out! what looked like shiny silver mudguards and handle bars were cleverly disguised rusted out chrome!

anyways, i think i, (with some help from my friend derek when i went back on the boat for a few weeks) did a fine job restoring it to its former beauty.

i grinded down the silver spray-painted rusty layers to reveal slightly blemished but more or less sparkling chrome! yay. and the yellow makes me happy, even on gloomy haligonian days. ^_^ (by the way, the yellow cardigan was an accident!)

nick also wanted to make his first appearance on the blog. he was totally showing off.

a lovely halie selassie pin that an enthusiastic rastafari gave me in st lucia last winter.

what a fantastic day in halifax!