Black and white

At school we are looking into black and white photography and I just love it. It brings texture to life, scenes which you want to not be distracted by colour which we have certain connotations with. Here are a few photos. Kassia

Tallulah Rendall

The very talented singer/songwriter Tallulah Rendall is in the midst of producing her second album. Libellus, her first album, was breathtaking. Her vocals are beautiful with such a diverse vocal range and her classically trained voice sends shivers through me every time I listen to it. She explores songwriting in deep layered vocals which take you away on flight and fantasy. Seeing her perform live is an incredible treat and you should see her at any chance you have!
Lay me down, Black Seagull and Time Fades are but a few of the delights of Libellus. I am waiting with baited breath for the next instalment.

Are we losing our earthly connection?

I have a Buddhist Quote which my Dad got me a few years ago and I'm trying to put into practice what each day teaches. It is amazing how profound many of these sayings are and how I have to tell myself so often not to worry about things which in the end can often seem so insignificant. I of course know that we have to be realistic and relevant to our lives but how we if we simplify our lives how the results can often be a shift to happiness, contentment and fulfilment.
Today's quote was particularly influential to me at my particular point in life at the moment:
"Want what you have and don't want what you don't have. Here you will find true fulfilment" - Jack Kornfield.

We can spend so much of our time being jealous of others, wanting what we don't have and what we maybe believe we should have or deserve. It seems the materialism of the world is growing at such an alarming speed. There is always a newer model, a brighter, bigger one. Conversations are cut short by games, TV, the internet. We forget to get outside and experience the world, sounds, smells, sights. We want more and more and take more and more. I spent the evening at the pub and all 4 people at the table were on their i-phone playing a game with each other! What happened to engaging in stimulating conversation?! Are we losing our connection with people, our society, the planet. I recently watch James Cameron's "Avatar" and now believe that perhaps this is the direction we are headed in however far fetched it may now seem.

We must use technology to inform and educate us but not take us over. We have to remember how incredible it is to smell the ocean, hear a child laughing, have wind in our hair. I certainly do not want to find myself within a digital world with no way out . . . .

11.11

I don't think that life is fair to remind us that life is not permanent. I think that we are sometimes so overwhelmed with what is going on, what is going right, what is going wrong that we forget to cherish what is most important to us. I feel that I wallow sometimes too much that I forget to enjoy what I have around me; in the right here, right now. I feel that I am so lucky to have what I have. I am so lucky that when it disappears, I remember just how amazing it was. I remember how incredible life can be that always longing for the perfect moment can leave you behind, and leave you missing what in fact you had all along. I won't take for granted what I have, I won't. But I will take this moment to be sad and to remember what I have lost. I believe that life has its reasons and complicated ones at that. I know that as much as we want to fight it, all this happens and is meant to happen. Heart ache is devastating but it does heal, maybe just with a slight tear which doesn't match up perfectly. Memories are joyful moments of delight which illuminate our hearts and minds. They make us smile and remember times which are the most precious. We must not be sad but take joy in a happiness which elevates us and reminds us that life has to have two opposites; two polars which are equally important. Without one we would not understand the other. Without either we would not come to know true happiness and fulfilment. LIfe cannot be permanent as we are not put on this earth to live forever. We are all vessels of knowledge, love, light and truth. I am sad but I smile when I remember you.

Surreal moments

It was the most surreal moment last night. I went to the cinema on Granville Street (to see "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" which on a side note is an incredible movie, very superbly shot with a backdrop of stunning and cold Sweden) and on my way out back into the balmy night I felt as if I was in a movie myself. I felt as if I was almost floating out onto the busy street which was so unfamiliar to me. I had lost myself in the passion of the film that it was if I had slept walked out. For an instance I did not know where I was! I turned to walk up the street looking a little bewildered I'm sure to the passers by. In a few moments,as if in slow motion, it all came flooding back to me. By the time I had reached the street corner I remembered that I was in Vancouver, my new home for the time being. It is amazing how, when you take yourself out of familiar surroundings, you can feel so utterly disorientated.

Alice Newton plays at Nita Lake Lodge

Local singer/song writer Alice Newton is playing a weekly Friday and Saturday night gig at the Nita Lake Lodge Hotel in Whistler. It is a great place to have a bite to eat and great wine or just a cocktail. The atmosphere is relaxed and inviting with Alice's music lending a sophisticated and upbeat setting. Her beautiful vocals and acoustic guitar sound are not to be missed. Make sure you check her out.

Grete Eliassen gets highest ever female air off a hip

http://cooler.mpora.com/news/world/watch-grete-eliassens-female-world-hip-record.html

31 feet! Awesome :)