touro touro!

well, now that i have found a slightly permanent internet situation (stealing from some poor, oblivious neighbor!) (let's hope it stays that way) i have decided i will try my best to keep anyone who is even interested, updated on my travels and whereabouts and doings in portugal!

i am here until september so there should be lots to post. but that also depends on how willing i am to do so when i am in such a beautiful country. but, i wanted to make this a habit (the blog) so maybe i will anyways!
anyways lets get down to the point of this posting. last week i visited my first, REAL bullfight. my family casually visited one in some little rinkydink town somewhere years ago, i can't really recall much except for that the matadors etc. were in training and were using a large bull calf instead of a bull!
this bullfight, which happens every thursday night at campo pequeno, just happened to be one of the larger bullfights that happen there with extremely well known riders: luis rouxinol, vitor ribeiro and salgueiro da costa.

before you gasp in horror and wonder why i might go see a bullfight, well it comes down to two things:

one. the portuguese play much nicer than the spanish. they do not kill the bull at the end of its run. infact, it gets ushered out with some beautiful female cows decorated in sashes and bells.

two. although bandarilheiros (like spanish matadors minus the sward) on foot play a huge part, it's all about the lusitano horses and the cavaleiros (riders). and for a damn well good reason! these horses (and their beautifully dressed riders) are absolutely insane. sideways, frontways, backwards, fancy prances, hops off all fours, all the while dizzying the bull (who is mere inches away) with its spectacular training.

i can't leave these guys out either. but there are these crazy fellows who wear funny green hats called forcados, one man has to taunt the bull and jump on the horns when it charges. the other seven men follow and try to stop the bull in its tracks. now, these guys are either extremely brave, or extremely stupid. you decide. anyways, there are usually only two endings: they either get the bull with apparent ease or the man gets flung around like a rag doll and trampled. .. i suppose both make for exciting endings though.

anyways, i am much too lazy to caption all of these and i used my 200 which is horrible for indoors (we were the furthest seats away you could possibly have, no exageration!) but enjoy.

a beautiful land

as many of you know i am finally off to portugal...

this is just a quick post as ive got to catch my taxi downtown to catch my ride to the airport.

i will be primarily incommunicado for the next little bit...until i get internet hookups at my grandparents ancient appartment...


but for now..as many are not aware..bask in the wonders of portugal.. or atleast virtually. :)

melodious day!

one of those bands (or really just one amazing fellow) that i sometimes forget about... but i don't know how i could.

daniel snaith is the genius behind "caribou", a one-man-psychedelic-electronic-rock show. (he just happens to be canadian too!) he's got such a beautiful retro vibe.. all of the songs make you want to dance and spin in circles in a large flowy dress.. or no dress at all!



oh how i would love to see him and his recruited live band members in concert. i bet it would be a wickedly insane show...

the most beautiful ring in the world

what an absolutely lovely ring! this $30 dollar ring is by the fantastic 'wewear' who makes an assortment of eclectic,unique but outstandingly beautiful jewelry.

this one just happens to be my favourite, but if you are into fun, non traditional jewelry like this swan lake ring then please check out wewear on etsy shop!

ruby, don't take your love to town

pow, wow! II

the thinking process

dont you love human thought processes..

really they are quite insane when you really think about it. I started this when I was younger but sometimes now, when i think of it (ha) i will try to remember what made me think about a certain thing, and what made me think of that certain thing, and what lead me to that, and so one and so forth!

i just had quite the thought-process connection stream going earlier which eventually led me to this:

if i ever a have a clothing label, i have decided i will name it make/shift

~~~~

as i have posted before, this blog is like a little keepsake box. so it holds exactly that, little ideas, memories and things that pop into my head. i feel as though i have been at times more of a slave to this blog than having it and using it for my own convenience...

so expect change! not a lot, but more-so in the way of length of posts and content! i am assuming it will be full of randomness and bits and pieces here and there as my head is full of strange and wonderful things.

the best accessories

my new take on delicious 90´s grunge. complete with turtle'cat.

plan b a fail.

i will put this in just for good measure, AND IN DISGUST!

pow, wow!

the sequel to a previous post on the membertou 400 celebration in halifax.
i went 3 days, about 5 or 6 times in total. it was a fantastic cultural experience.the culture is so vibrant; in history, traditions and dress. i have never actually experienced anything like that first hand. i had always seen it on tv or in movies but never in real life.

the best part was one of the midnight dance and song sessions. i had ran from work to check out the buffy sainte marie concert (which i missed, and am also extremely bitter about) but was happy to find hundreds of people in a circle watching many different native tribes dancing and singing.

if you can imagine it was the middle of the night, glowing teepee's all round, a crystal clear evening and stars over head, native song and dance blasting across the commons . the whole scene was seriously beautiful and haunting in a way.
ANYWAYS, besides me wanting to lay there and bask in the glory of the evening (and the day time sun the other 4 times), i sucked it up and pulled on my photojournalist-thinking-hat and got down to work.. if only for a few moments :)

here are a few photos from my day at the festival. i will post more whenever i really get around to editing them. :) please excuse the half-assed attempts at the more or less pseudo-photo-journalistic captioning.

halifax commons was set aglow with ever changing led-lit teepees (aren't they beautiful!!!)
dancers show off their immaculate costumesall tribe dance, in a display of beautiful colours and movements
emele neufeld, 18, has been participating in traditional dancing since the age of two. neufeld explained he was 'thrown into it' at a young and oblivious age but understands the importance of his heritage and carrying on traditions.

the glowing teepees attract numerous visitors who watch in awe of their ever changing colours.a young native girl is the center of attention as she is the only contender for her age category for traditional dance
young dancers prepare to compete infront of judges and hundreds of anxious on-lookersthe embroidered rose on wilma simon's wrist and arm represent her young and timid daughter.joe googoo and family shave and tan a fresh moose skin in the traditional way, using pointed tools made out of moose shin bones.wilma simon sings a traditional song about the destruction and despair that arose after the first settlers encountered her people.an elder takes part in fancy

bikini season

in the past i have been a pretty avid collector of bikinis but as the years go on i find that i bother with them less and less. probably due to the fact that as you get older your summers become less like summer vacations and more like long weekends.

i have dreamed for the summer vacations of elementary school and junior high. perhaps all of this dreaming has finally paid off! i head out to portugal sometime next week, i will be taking a language course there but they will go no later than 1 or 2 pm in the day which leaves OPTIMAL beach time!

minus the course (which i feel i will be happy to get up and go to each morning, *knock on wood.) it will basically be a summer holiday; sun, beach & surfing for 2 months.

and what do sun & beach call for? bikinis of course! it is also time for a new style of bikini. i forever am buying bikinis that i will be able to do some REAL swimming/wave jumping in, but usually find the saggy bottoms floating around my ankles, or worse, tumbling in the foam a few meters away.

so the season's new bikini style might be the perfect and fashionable solution to my saggy run-away bottoms - and i refuse to wear sport bathingsuits. i am on the hunt for the perfect 50's style bikini..or something else interesting on the way!

so far, these are the most beautiful 50's style bikini & trunks i have found! they come from a beautiful designer Frances May!i however will not pay almost $300 for a bikini. but it is some fantastic inspiration!

free people seem to be a constant source of beautiful clothing. this patchwork one with button is really cute!

i am in love with LA based company Shay Todd's handkercheif bikini. easily worn with a pair of shorts - ready to go! you might get a ridiculous tan..but atleast it's great for swimming! or perhaps this floral beauty from ASOS!
and i lied, if sporty can always be done in THIS kind of way, sign me up.

maaji cut-out sport contrast swim suit also found at ASOS:

sadly, i cannot order online as i had hoped, as i will be gone before my package could possibly arrive. maybe i will just have to wait until i arrive in portugal!