good timing.
It’s the long weekend here in B.C. and it was probably the best long weekend to date, as far as I can remember! Rob and I went to the Powell Street Festival, which is an annual celebration of Japanese arts and culture. Instead of going to the fireworks (which I never go to anyway, but that’s a different story), we headed out to see Shugo Tokumaru!! It was really amazing and adorable and intimate (about 75 people?) and just as I had expected it to be. He had Yumiko (who has a separate project called Meso Meso) play the accordion and toys (wind up birds, kazoos, bird flutes, bells, whistles, triangles, xylophones). It was awesome.
The following day we went back to the Festival (Rob really wanted to eat his favourite dessert, imagawayaki, a red bean pancake), this time with Kristina in tow to see him play again, in a festival setting. I am pretty sure he won a lot of hearts yesterday. We met Ian, who will be putting out Shugo’s record in North America, and actually met and hung out with Shugo and Yumiko for an hour or so. I really need to review my Japanese, that’s all I have to say. I apologize to them for butchering their beautiful language.
Yesterday made me love the city that I live in, even though it’s “No Fun”.
I’ve been in another place lately (school, life, oh I got a job!) so I will be posting the questions received very soon! I apologize. BUT – Shugo will be coming back to North America, playing a few shows in September, and I highly recommend you check him out. Ian told us that the label is trying to get members of Beirut and The National to back him up this time – which would be absolutely brilliant!!!
en plus
Another reason to love Zooey Deschanel! Here’s the video for She and Him…Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
ask an asian
In an attempt to make this blogging more habitual (and possibly gain some more readers), I invite individuals with concerns, gripes, and/or questions to write me an email at dirtybootQ@gmail.com and I will do my best to answer it! Please note that I am not a professional. I am still in school and studying Sociology. Think of me more as an objective friend that one would confide in or vent to in times of despair/anger/whatever.
Please be aware that I may post your question on the blog every now and then (hence the excellent fake names you will be using), and probably for the time being…I will post just about every email I receive, unless it’s really stupid/insulting. ha-ha. I think I give pretty sound advice.
Rob (Fine Arts) and Kristina (Psychology) will also be helping out, so you’re in excellent hands.
caution
Do the majority of young people think that he or she is a critic (music/film/dining) these days, or that critiquing is the easiest job in the world and just about anyone can do it? It completely angers me when individuals who don’t like a certain genre of music (ie, those who have “everything BUT country” in their music interests section on their facebook/myspace page) “critique” music of that particular genre. Or those individuals who actually have zero opinion and basically like everything that is “cool” at the moment. And the worst type of these so-called critics are those who actually have no music knowledge – you know, old music.
I take music reviews very seriously (judging by this post, maybe a little too much). I trust a small number of publications and people for music advice because I know they will give me an objective review. A few months ago I found myself flipping through a magazine and came across a review for The Magnetic Fields’ new album, Distortion:
…I am giving this album a bad review on the basis that its contrived and only appeals to chicks and the high school version of myself.
I honestly wanted to rip this magazine into shreds, call the office and yell at the music editor, but I couldn’t because a dear friend is a part of this publication. Instead, I stared at the review and read it over and over and let it consume me. I went home and put on the album (YES I BOUGHT IT) and listened to it twice. I asked Rob what he thought. I asked my friends what they thought. I looked online to read what music critics thought. And the general consensus was that the album was fun and solid. Fun and solid = good.
So who is right? Granted, not everyone is going to agree on the same thing. Tastes differ. Did he not like the album simply because everyone else did? Was I angered by this review simply because of the fact that he didn’t like it, and I couldn’t fathom how one could not like the album? I don’t know. By no means am I saying that I have the qualifications to be a better music critic, but I believe I am more angered by the fact that this magazine does not take music reviews seriously, but sees it more as filler. Individuals who wish to contribute to the magazine often do music reviews. Are these reviewers trying to mimic the dry, sarcastic tone of Vice magazine? I don’t get it. I just don’t get how music reviews are simply dismissed. Is it because people don’t buy cds anymore? Nobody cares? THEN GET RID OF THE MUSIC REVIEW SECTION!! PUT IN SOME FUCKING CLASSIFIEDS OR MAKE UP SOME MISSED CONNECTIONS…
On a side note, I find it amusing that this frustration has remained in my system for so long, considering the album came out in January…
theories
We live in a strange neighbourhood in East Vancouver. It is eerily quiet around the bubble of the ‘hood, but if you are standing at the top of the hill and listen, you can hear a plethora of noises coming from the outside perimeter. Sandra and I realized this once and it totally freaked me out. Rob and I also speculate that there is a lot of strange going-ons in this neighbourhood. I’m certain there are at least three drug houses, and a lot of strange activity in a few others.
Which brings me to yesterday…
So it was a little bit before noon and we were getting ready to leave for the day (I for school and Rob for work) when I heard a slight knock on the door. Nobody knocks on our door. For one, we live in the middle of nowhere, and friends do not just “drop by” because they’re in our neighbourhood. Secondly, if it was a solicitor or anything, why would he or she come around to the back? The house is fenced off and you can’t really see that there is a separate entrance to the basement from the front of the house. Obviously I was not going to answer the door because I was scared of the various possibilities that could happen to a small Asian girl (thanks a lot, media!) and Rob was in the bathroom at the time. The mystery person knocked once more and then I heard a noise – as if he or she was pushing on the slightly ajar kitchen window. I was silently freaking out and signaling Rob to hurry up and check out the situation; the cats were frozen stiff (guard cats they are not!), shooting worried looks at one another (who will feed us if you two are dead?).
Rob and I finally regained composure and he set outside to see what was going on. I had the cellphone in hand, ready to call someone (at this time I wasn’t sure who I would be calling – the police? Kristina? Mom?). The back gate was open but Rob was sure this person hadn’t left.
Sure enough, this mysterious man appeared in our back yard (again), definitely caught off-guard by Rob, and was sketchy beyond belief (lets call him SAM – or Sketchy Asian Man). He was about 5′7″ Asian (Vietnamese? Cambodian?) with darker skin, wearing a black tank top and black jeans (fake Gucci, of all things) and black dress shoes. He had these strange scars on his face that did not look as if he was born with them. His face kind of reminded me of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Bug-eyed with a similar haircut.
Rob: What are you doing here?
SAM: Oh. Uh…nothing. I’m just…
[SAM turns and walks around the perimeter of the house]
[Rob proceeds to follow him]
Rob: Can I help you?
SAM: Is…uh…anyone home?
Rob: Yes. There is.
SAM: Oh…uh..nevermind. I’m going to go now.
[SAM books it, leaving from the back gate, going up and across the field]
Now, I’m generally a fair person, and I like to give people the benefit of the doubt; however, I don’t think this individual acted favourably to deserve anything of the like. We’re pretty sure he was scoping out the house for a possible break-in, or was going to break-in, had Rob not intercepted.
Who enters a home from the back gate? What would have happened if I did open the door – would it have been a home invasion?
I’m pretty sure another reason SAM was caught off-guard was the fact that Rob is tall and white. Face it, we live in a predominately Asian neighbourhood (who doesn’t?), and if SAM and co. (this definitely wasn’t a one man job) had been scoping out the house, they probably didn’t expect a white guy to live here, too.
So what now? I’ve notified everyone about SAM, and windows remain closed and locked when no one is home, no matter how stuffy it gets. I was pretty freaked out by SAM and everyone made sure that I called them when I got home yesterday. Thanks, friends!
Just so you know – if you have home insurance and there is a break in – chances are your policy will not cover you for entire contents (or anything) if
a) a window or door is ajar at time of incident
b) if the alarm was not set
It’s usually an afterthought (oh, I’ll only be gone for a few hours so I can leave this window open!), but the repercussions can be devastating!
I forgot to mention that I received my midterm back a week and a half ago – 19/20! On top of that, the prof decided to give everyone an additional mark (I’m guessing some people did poorly on it); thus, granting me 100% on my midterm. I am really pleased with this, mostly because this one text was worth 30%. Now I just need to do well on the term paper (25%) and my final (30%). I am really nervous about this paper, though. We have been given strict instructions on what to do and what not to do. Then there is also this expectation that I have to do well by my prof (it’s college, remember. Not as many people in the classes!) since we already spoke about my paper and he expressed great interest in reading it. Fuck.
