School & Centipedes

School has been ruling our lives for the past few weeks, as we prepare for our foundation show on the 16th. Christian is finished, but because I was sick and out of school for three weeks I am still finishing. Tomorrow I will be finished.

In other news, this morning I woke up at 7 and went into the bathroom and noticed a piece of fluff on the floor by the tub. It was unusually large, and because we've been having some house spider invasions my paranoia came into action and I leaned closer to inspect it. It was a dying, spider/centipede. It was a pretty large insect that I've never seen before, at first glance it looked like a caterpillar, but with the legs of a spider- so I decided that it was a spentipede. It was pretty much dead, it was lying on it's back and wiggling it's legs slowly in circles. I trapped it under a glass and went back to my room to finish writing an essay. Throughout the day I would return to the bathroom, tap on the glass and nudge it with the cup, and I was sure the end was near. About mid-day, I went back and noted the time of death, as it was completely still as I lifted the cup off the floor. I kept it under the glass for the rest of the day, had a shower in the bathroom with it and so on. Around dinner time I went to the bathroom to check on it and it was alive again, back from the dead. I think it was also pretty upset from the way it was punching the sides of the cup. Anyway, I noticed that it had lost 4 legs and they were in a pile in the centre of the cup. I wanted to identify it, so I went online only to discover that it was a Scutigera Coleoptrata: a house centipede. It eats spiders and other bugs, can run 1.3 mph and it stings.. but only when provoked. Here is a picture of a Scutigera:

Disgusting, yes. Anyway, I'm slightly concerned that there are more in our house somewhere, namely in my bedroom, in my sheets. I'll post a picture of the real guy soon, I fed him some leaves and put a bottle cap of water in his cage (the cup on the bathroom floor). I think the steam from the shower revived him. I also think that I'm going to cast him in resin, you know... make an example of him for the other bugs, make some jewelry out of it. Tomorrow I'm going to catch a bug for it to eat.

Here's to you Kidd

Some itsy bitsy birthday photos from Christian's birthday.

The cake read "here's to you kidd", it's gluten free, dairy free, AND sugar free.

(Almost sugar free)

Halloween Flashback

This is a small picture, but this is what Christian and I dressed up as for Halloween.

The theme was "Fairy Tales" and we were the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk. Well, his feet.

We won the competition and should have received one free course, but the administration couldn't figure out how to split it... or something, so instead we got a pen, a sketchbook and a nylon bag. The runner up, who dressed up as the H1N1 virus took our free course.

*some toenails fell off because we were dancing around.

Shrederorphious!

I finally finished the wooden tall bike! This bike has been an ongoing project over the past four months and it feels really good to actually be able to cruse the streets with it. I call it Shrederorphious.

Jordan mastered it within minuets.

The purpose of this bike is to add a positive and unexpected element to the world. It challenges the normality within the average person's life and triggers a sort of contagious hilarity and inspires all to break out of a state of apathy. John Maizeles in his book Raw Creation states “What happens when radically different forms of art are introduced to unprepared audiences is that the reflexes of the orthodox appreciation seizes up and becomes inoperative”. It is this type of unprepared reaction that the art bike brings out in the viewer. My half hour ride to school is filled with surprised and excited expressions, the odd “sweet bike!”, and a thumbs up. This bike is my way of creating something unexpected and unique in the lives of the people that I pass by. Our North American culture needs more rolling art, painted cars, and transformed bikes. Our lives have become defined by what we can buy, not by what we can make. Most people are afraid to do something different, to step out from the consumer crowd. I hope that my bike will inspire people to see the world from a new perspective, to eccentrify themselves and the world around them. This bike is my rolling rebellion, and I can only hope that others will follow.

Good Climate + No Safety = Cool cars

The other day I decided to snap some photos of a FEW of the rad vehicles that litter the streets of my hood. Since moving here I have been amazed by the vast amount of cool old vehicles. There are many rare stylish old cars, but there are also tons of old everyday cars that you just don't see in Ontario. I think that there are two things that keep old vehicles alive in Vancouver. Firstly, because the climate is truly amazing, cars don't rust-out. Secondly there is no automotive safety law which allows the beaters to remain on the streets. Also, because there are so many of these cars, they are often dirt cheap. $500 will get you a reliable old Volvo or Toyota.

Nature Photography

I have developed an interest in nature photography. I took these pictures on a short walk in the jungle, near my house. I would have gotten closer, but it jumped down and I ran away.

It is a rare female, hippo-leopard. There are said to be only three left in the wild. She appears to be wedged in between two branches. Fascinating.

Phriday Photos

Some photos I snapped from around Christian's house.