Click the link.

I woulda posted the vid from youtube b/c i think it would encourage yall to actually look but the resolution etc etc is much clearer if you just click this link instead:

WORLD PRESS PHOTO 2009

i know we suffer for fashion orrr whateverrr

Do people really like what they say they like/love&live? Or is it all just for fashion?

It just annoying when I meet people and am completely disappointed by them and their lack of actual real passion in what they claim to love&live.

And I mean, I don't care if you aren't into what's fashionable (eg: electro music), or just have a slight interest or EVEN, oh hey that songs good, its catchy, I like it...But to act like it (whatever it may be) is your whole entire meaning for existence or something... is kinda ridiculous.

But then again, it could be because I'm in Leeds which is a major student town where the people are quite trendy. Theres no 'hipster' here. Its more like.. people just dresses that way because its whats in style. Sidenote, 'vintage stores' have seriously cashed in on this, charging 20 bucks for a shirt you could find for 4 from value village.

I think where the confusion lies, is that from what I'm used to seeing in Canada, -- as horrible as it sounds-- listening to indie music CAN come with a look.
Here, (some bars atleast) its kindof like people dress indie-ish/hipster-ish, cus its trendy, then say they like indie music, also for fashion.

I have been to quite a few bars with really good music& a good crowd, but I have a funny story that has to do with what I mentioned above.

So I go to a so-called indie bar andd umm they were playing pretty crap stuff. Like.. Oceans Avenue by Yellowcard from when I was 16 or something... So I got sick of the blast from the past and asked the DJ to play Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Cus hey, lets be honest, Yeah Yeah Yeahs are a crowd pleaser and they are pretttty popular, so I was confident with my request.. "Date with the night" comes on, I look around and about 4 people are screaming "WOOP!!" in excitement. The rest who, were previously singing along to the oldschool poprock music just looked confused. Heavily tattooed, and confused. Hahaha, it was really strange.

Don't worry Yellowcard, I still be "sleepin all day and stayin up all, niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight"

Do you really think I want to be in the position of handing out D's and F's to people who are packing pistols?

Friend from Texas sent me this:

Texas campuses may allow students to carry concealed weapons

FRiGGiNOMETRY things are too far gone.

"We are all different, just like anybody else"

When we were in Rome we saw a great art exhibit called Exactitudes at the Palazzo Incontro. It was hilarious and completely on-point. These two artists from Rotterdam collected and took photos of people for over 14 years from a bunch of different places - Rotterdam, New York, Buenos Aires, Paris, Milan etc. While looking at dresscode and how people were trying to distinguish themselves from others, they were able to capture how these people actually fit into very distinct and predictable groups. The line, "we are all different, just like anybody else," from Ari Versluis & Ellie Uyttenbroek, sums up the entire project quite precisely.

In the actual exhibit, there was a sound recording of one of the artists giving a little witty description of each photo and after five or so, he would repeat the word 'exactitudes' a couple times. It was clever and excerpts were very amusing.

Here is one of my favorites, called French Touch, where he describes the boys as having, "rugged and confused hair" hahaha.

This image is copyrighted offa the exactitudes website and go to about for more info.

The whole thing is both hilariously true and perhaps a bit depressing.

crimes and misdemeanors

coWINKy

Theres too much pressure to write about italy.

Anways, I have been blessed with hella good luck here in ol blightly and its making me remember what this palm reader told me in Bangkok.
I'm starting to think I shouldn't have gone to the palm reader because random stuff happens and then I remember his 'premonitions' andd get mega freaked out because I realize he's right.
BUT is he right? OR is it, just you know, coincidence? And if he IS, then that must mean that everything he said about my life will actually occur? aka 2 children, married when 30, does not use the science background I will have attained for my future job, married to a business man, only gets good luck when i move away from home. etc, etc (there is more defining stuff but its secret)

AND if he isn't right (if this is all a big cowinky dink) but I still have in my head that he is... will I subconsciously make decisions to match his premonitions then write a book about it & my travels? (book may or may not be similar to Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert....Hahahaha)

From the Start

Our luck was umm DECENT until we got to Rome. Not the best, but it still made the whole trip a massive adventure. Anddd the fact that Sara and I are quite incapable of planning.. and making decisions sortof added to it haha but in a good way.
Anyways
I guess I'll start from the beginning. Venice. We got off the plane and it was raining. RAINING. Stupid England was following us. BUT we refused to let the rain ruin our first day (formally known as The Beginning To the Rest of Our New Lives).

So we wandered around beautiful, lovely, quaint -minus the infinite number of tourist shops- little Venice. We enthusiastically practiced the few Italian phrases we had memorized and tried our hardest NOT to be mistaken for tourists.. which is quite stupid seeing as anyone who comes to Venice is a tourist. It was really great trying to communicate in Italian because everyone replied in Italian (unlike in Rome and Florence where I would order something in Italian and they would respond in English knowing I'm not from there. At least play along!)

The rain finally cleared up and it was perfetto (that means perfect in Italian, just in case you didn't know). We bought cakes and wine and sat on a dock and watched boats go by.

Some favorite moments:

-The men that drive...steer (?) the Gondolas, that constantly question , "Gondola, Gondola, Gondola????" as you pass by. Haha. no. No Gondola for me. Its too expensive. Sara and I stuck to the 50 cent one that just goes from one side of the dock to the other and the water buses.

-Waking up to this in the morning:


-Piazza San Marco. Sara and I LITERALLY gasped when we saw it. It was just so startling because we were following our friend, not paying much attention to where we were headed, and then BAM you are in this massive square with this beautiful building that is like BREATHING or something. Its just so stunning and unexpected.