Sweater Time Again

When it's cold enough to showcase my sweaters on blogger, there really is no need to be loquacious. Plus, I've also been at a loss for words lately so I'll just let my photos do the talking.

I'm whipping out all the knitwear for winter and I'm getting quite stoked about that prospect.  Just think about how much easier it would be to get ready every morning when you know exactly how frumpily stylish you want to be, swimming in a different sweater, everyday.

Sometimes a toque does the trick when you're aiming for the "cozy and lazy thus ironically hip" look. This is how this outfit came to be.
Oh dear readers. I really wish I could share some profound writings with you all, but like I said,  my opinions are not so readily springing into life and translating well into cohesion that can be published on "web paper". However, I'm still full of angst, and what I think are sensible and well-thought out analyses surrounding some of the most titillating problems of my modern day life, so I guess that's good. Perhaps I've been video gaming too much...

Front Woman

As a woman of this society and someone who is very aware of the gender issues we face on a daily basis, this past week had been a total emotional roller coaster ride. In addition to hearing about the recent atrocities involving the facebook photo postings of a gang rape of a 16 year old girl in Maple Ridge, I learned about the story of Teena Brandon on Monday after watching Boys Don't Cry. As if that was not enough, yesterday, I witnessed first hand an assault of a woman by a man in the back parking lot of my work. Though it is only Thursday, too soon to tell how I would feel for the rest of my life, I have a suspicion that this newly awakened anger and sadness towards the current trend of how women are treated will stay with me for a long time. The truth is, I have felt this way for a long time about all sorts of issues and social injustices, but the difference between reading and seeing first hand a violent act committed towards a woman is unimaginable; the latter experience makes the problem of gender violence a lot more immediate and urgent. Seeing how this is affecting me so much already, I choose not to go into the subject. But I want to raise awareness about it because it is all too real even though sometimes we forget because of how sheltered our lives can get sometimes with our daily routines.

I will end on a positive note by posting my band's first recording for you all to scrutinize. Actually, I'm quite proud of it because I think it sounds pretty good for the first take. Plus I didn't mess up once playing guitar and singing at the same time, even though you can't really hear me and our timing was off at various points throughout the song. Regardless, this is the first song we've ever wrote, so be kind. It's called "King Cats" and it's about ligers.


(sorry about the ads in there, but this the only way I know how to upload an mp3s onto blogger)

Everything I Learned, I Learned It From T.V.

Actually, that's not entirely true because I really don't watch a ton of television. But when I do catch a program that tickles my fancy, I can get real absorbed into the "boob tube". Like today, when I wasn't expecting much quality programing at four o'clock in the afternoon, I watched a charming little documentary on the historical and social evolution of dogs. According to the show, the modern day dog breeds have grew from the original forty variety to over four hundred, due to pedigree breeding. And some dogs are so selectively bred for certain desired physical characteristics, they are unable to adapt to the environment and live a normal and healthy lifespan (ie. bulldogs). So in the end, what we've ended up with are these genetic abominations who are unable to go about their "dog ways" because they are pretty much canine Frankensteins who's fates are completely in the hands of their owners. To give you an idea on just how much dogs have transformed (unnaturally) over the centuries, next time you see a bulldog try and any shred of resemblance to its ancestor, the wolf.


An ending note: we ought to let dogs be dogs.

Is it Chemically Derived?

Recently, I started a vegetable garden in my back yard so gardening has become a new hobby of mine. I spent the whole afternoon today watering my precious, organic vegetables and it's been very serene and rewarding watching them grow and flourish. But my main motive for growing a vegetable garden started with me wanting to lead a more sustainable lifestyle. Ever since I became a vegetarian five years ago I've been looking for ways to substitute meat-eating with more sustainable alternatives. However, as I became more committed to my vegetarianism and sustainable living, I began to get dissatisfied even with vegetables. I'm always suspicious of where my food came from because I really had no choice but to scrutinize everything I buy in order to be a responsible vegetarian. But vegetables had never been a target of my incessant inspection until I saw the documentary "Our Daily Bread and realized just how foreign (literally) our food has become.
My first realization of this detachment occurred at Save-On-Foods when I saw pineapples on the shelves in mid January. I knew that we couldn't grow tropical fruits here in Canada even without it being the middle of the winter so I my suspicion told me to read the label. So after I found out that it was imported from the U.S. I went around the entire produce section and examined every item. And almost all of them were imported from somewhere outside the country. Having learned that I was instantly disillusioned and realized just how "unsustainable" our food is. I mean, a copious amount of resources must have already been utilized to grow all those out-of season pineapples. So on top of all that, lots of fuels were also used to transport all of them thousands of kilometers away. And it might just be a fruit to a consumer, but it itself is a commodity -- possessing an economic value yet the labor behind it is completely overlooked and its existence is taken for granted. Therefore, ever since then I have been trying to avoid buying imported and out of season food. And since I can't always afford organic and locally grown vegetables, I figured I can just plant them. After all, food is food and they bear social significance to us because they keep us alive. Therefore, they should be easily attainable, natural and I think it is important that always know what we're eating and how they got on our plates.

I guess I was trying to channel my inner farmer with these rompers but my favorite part of this whole outfit was the shoes matched the bag perfectly

New Look

I've been keeping myself prisoner at home studying for my last midterm ever so I decided to change my blog layout today in an effort to fight the boredom and feelings of isolation. The color palette is a little too "soft and creamy" for my liking but I wanted the change to be completely different from my last one. Plus, I had to color co-ordinate according to my banner picture which I took and edited all by myself.

I wore this outfit last week so the fact that my outfit matches my blog colors perfectly is a total freak coincident. Perhaps it is the result of an unconscious priming effect? Regardless, I think this is extremely appropriate for welcoming the change though

This purse is way too small for its own good but damn it looks good.

I am in love with these old-lady sandals. They jumped right out at me when I was browsing through the "summer shoes" section at the thrift store.
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