Mesmerising

Black Swan

I have been looking forward to the latest offering from Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan - for quite some time now. The international teaser artwork that was just released has done nothing to make me any less excited. Some of the best work I have seen in quite some time:

She's Diggin' My Chilis

So last Saturday I participated in the Shoot Experience event Shoot(ing) Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery with my trusty partner in crime Louise Hough. We were given seven phrases/ideas and had 4 hours to take one photograph for each phrase/idea. The photos were judged upon submission and a winner was selected for each phrase/idea. Additionally, the judges selected their favorite/best overall photograph.

Newsflash: We won! Totally caught me by surprise. The last thing I expected going in was that one of our submissions would even be considered for winning anything. Needless to say, I was in complete shock when our photo was announced as the favorite/best overall of the day. Common courtesy dictates that I acknowledge that the judging was completely whimsical and arbitrary. Never the less, we won! The best part about it all is that our photograph will be exhibited for one night at the National Portrait Gallery. Yes, you read that right. THE National Portrait Gallery. I will have something that I helped create on exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery. Crazy.

So after that preamble you are probably a little curious as to what the photograph looks like. The category it was submitted for was called doppelganger. We were given the following portrait by Sarah Lucas and instructed to recreate/interpret our own version.

Here is our winning interpretation:

Pretty funny right? The guy running the event especially liked the look of sexual tension on my face. If he only knew. I got this low-res image from the Shoot Experience website because I haven't had time to actually take the photo off my camera. Once I do, a better version will be available for your viewing pleasure on my flickr page. Until then, I hope this version can give you some good laughs.

PS The. National. Portrait. Gallery.

Paris I love you...

...even when you are bringing me down. But those instances are few and far between. You know all those bad things you have heard about the French and Paris? They aren't true. If I didn't struggle so much with pronouncing French words, I could live there quite happily. The city is beautiful. The people are friendly. The pace of life is relaxed. The museums and galleries are amazing. The antique markets are literally filled with treasures. I can't wait to return. Paris, I seriously love you more than a "hipster" loves being "ironic."

Flickr Set

Freathy - Cornwall

Flickr Set

The Magic Box

I know I said I wasn't going to post anything else about Lost. Technically this isn't really about Lost although Lost is mentioned and the main theme of the post relates strongly to Lost. So what I wanted to share today is a presentation that JJ Abrams gave at TED in 2007 wherein he discusses the magic of mysteries, his favorite scene from Jaws, his love for Apple, and also makes a few jokes that really weren't that funny. I watched this a couple of years ago and really appreciated Abrams' perspective on the value of mystery in story telling. While I was discussing my views on Lost with one of my friends the other day we discussed how I enjoy the mystery more than the answer. There is so much more excitement and emotion in the unknown and when the answers are finally revealed they are more often than not quite anti-climactic. It is so much more satisfying for me when the "answers" are left to my imagination. I prefer not to see the man behind the curtain. So yeah, give this little presentation by the great JJ Abrams a view. It may give you a new perspective on the role of mystery in storytelling. Also, if you haven't already explored the archives of TED than do yourself a huge favor and watch some of the presentations. They are absolutely fascinating.

Probably My Last Post Ever Regarding Lost

****Spoiler Alert****

There is not too much that I really want to say regarding the finale of Lost. I am sure it was quite unsatisfying for the mythology fans who want definitive answers to all their questions and mysteries. Nothing I can say will appease them so I don't even want to go down that road. As for me, I am extremely pleased with how everything ended. It was very satisfying from an emotional perspective to see everybody enlightened and reunited in the sideways reality. I loved how footage from previous seasons was used to show the enlightenment process of the individual characters. I was especially happy that they chose to use my favourite moment of the series which is the shot of Locke on the beach from the pilot episode when he has the orange peel in his mouth and gives his simple, reassuring smile. It was reassuring from a personal perspective to see these characters that I have grown to know and love overcome their weaknesses, leave their baggage behind, and find redemption as well as deep and meaningful happiness. At the risk of sharing too much information on a public forum such as this blog, it gave me hope. I loved how the theme of live together or die alone was reinforced. I love how the castaways created the sideways reality/universe/timeline/train station/airport so that they could find each other again and move to the afterlife together. I really, really loved this series and this conclusion. 6 years of my life and I have zero regrets. It left me emotionally wrecked and I am still trying to recover today. I am more than a little surprised at this. In fact I don't think I have the energy to really say anything else regarding the episode. It is all still too fresh in my mind. Check that. There is one last thing I do want to mention. I loved the added meaning and depth this episode gave to Desmond's quote "See you in another life brutha." And now that is really the last thing I can say right now. I don't want to be a complete wreck for the rest of the day. Poke fun if you must but it is true. I am quite vulnerable right now.