Please go to my NEW Blog

Just in case you missed it:
Tengo un Blog nuevo
en wordpress. Quisiera que usted viniera visitarme.

Я имею новое BLOG на wordpress.

Έχω ένα νέο Blog στα wordpress. Θα σας επιθυμούσα για να έρθω και να με επισκεφτώ.

Gekommen zu meinem neuen Blog.

novo Blog.

Question:

How come I get more hits now that I've moved to a NEW Blog than when I was here everyday updating like a mad blogspot blog blogger? It's perplexing. Because my NEW Blog is far superior. True, it's a little more professional. It's a bit different. But I have faith in you and I know that you will follow the many links provided here and that after some getting use to you will find that you too like my NEW Blog better.



I haven't abandoned you. I'm OVER HERE.

Lovely. Lisa's NEW Blog

Missing BannerMania?

For all the people who are missing the crazy collage montage banner that used to grace the top of my page -- it's your lucky day. I have added my lovely collage to the footer, so you can visit it whenever, or however often you like. And it's clickable!

Click on BannerMania and you will be magically sent to my new wordpress blog.

Lisa's New Blog on Wordpress

After a colossal disagreement over untweakability and general crappiness of its template html code, Blogger and I have decided that it's best that we go our separate ways. Don't feel bad. The relationship was tenuous at best and I admit to have been checking out other blog hosts for quite some time now. I know. It's horrible. But it's really for the best for both of us.

I'm happy to announce,"they mostly come out at night... mostly" has found better home and more stable relationship with WordPress.

My new blog: http://lisabettany.wordpress.com

Goodbye Blogger. We'll always be friends.

Guitar Chords of the Week

I don't have time to be a fancy pants with my normal level of chord charting, so I will just link you up to the song I am playing at this very moment: "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" by the Beatles. It's a fun song to play with nice simple chords so you don't have to hurt yourself with any crazy finger stretching ones like those in the "B" family...

"B" is for Bar chord and Big Blisters.

Sophie's on 4th: A Very Kitsy Place

Sophie's Cosmic Cafe, located on the corner of 4th and Arbutus in lovely Kitsilano, is a fun place to have dinner. The best part is that fun never stops because Sophie's is right next to the Comic Shop (bright yellow building) and the Candy Aisle (groovy green building). Eat, nerd, and rot your teeth, all in one go.



Here's a nice, cozy booth for you and me. I think I'll order the Sophie's Nut Burger with fries and a Caesar salad. Oh, and a big chocolate milkshake for desert. How 'bout you? The open-faced turkey sandwich with fries and lots of gravy? Sounds great. Oh yes I know, gravy really is everywhere.


Yes, that's a giant plastic fish stuck on a pool table... I know, it adds a certain degree of je ne sais quoi?


There are loads of entertaining things to look at in the Cosmic Cafe. They have the largest, mish mashed collection of 50s, 60s and 70s memorabilia I've ever seen... crazy glued to a restaurant wall.



You have a soft spot for Oldies' tunes as well? Why, what a lovely coincidence. My personal favourite Old School ditty is by the great Jimmy Dean, "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke that Cigarette." Yours too? Brilliant.


You know what goes great with cigarettes? Coffee. And lots of it. I'm on my fifth cup.


Hey! It's Charles. He's a very proud parrot.


Thanks for visiting Sophie's! Hope your experience was cosmic. I sure had fun.

BannerMania

What happens when you watch, study, and obsess over Wes Anderson films for three days in a row? BannerMania 2007. Intervention time? I think so.

ValenTimes with Mindy

Today is the Valentine's Day -- the National Day of Love. And who better to talk about love and nations, then our favourite guest blogger, love guru, and my best friend, Mindy. To discuss the intricacies of love and relationships, I present Mindy.

Hi Guys and Girlies,

I'm so happy to be here again sharing my live and and love on my bff Lisa's blog. I don't always understand your posts (were those real ants, cuz that's kinda gross to put your hand in an ant farm), but you know that I love you no mater what, my lovely Lola!! Hahaha.

Anyways, I was totally going to write a big long writing about how important it is to love and how, even if you love someone and they don't love you AS much, and it feels like your stalking him and he says you ARE stalking him, and you say "when are we getting married?" and he says "get lost I don't even know your name" and you say "but I love you" and then he deletes your friendship from facebook which is so cold, and... oh, what was I saying? Oh yeah, how it's important to love people (even if they don't love you back). So in the name of my favourite day of the year, Valentimes Day, I'm going to put my heart out there and let you read my most private and personal thoughts live from my diary (click on the picture to make it bigger).

Feliz día de San Valentín.

Y un otro regalo para mis audiencias de habla español (sobre todo mi profesor español preferido) que no entenderán Mindy porque ella es tan tonta. Aquí está mi mejor tentativa en escribir un poema español (con ayuda del diccionario). Feliz día de San Valentín.

los besos del fuego
empapan la noche.
La oscuridad baja entre los momentos y las fantasías.
Funciono mis dedos a través de las vides de uvas heladas,
cubiertas en demasiada noche
y demasiados sueños.
Bebemos el vino barato.
Está nublado y prueba como corcho.
Pero bailamos hasta mañana.
Me siento feliz.

Where am I?

Here's a super fun blog game to cheer up this soggy Monday evening. Where is Lisa and what is she doing? It sure looks fun.

Another thing that's fun is watching my favourite performances from the 2007 Grammy Awards:
1. JT is on FIRE. Seriously, he plays the guitar and the piano too?! Check out his band. They are ridiculous in a very good way. It would be my fantasy to just linger amongst all that gear. Just for good measure, here's another JT vid with more "band moments" JT Live in Paris.

2. Singer/songwriters bring the music back. Check out: Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend and John Mayer.

3. Finally, payback is so sweet for the Dixie Chicks who didn't make nice and got 5 Grammies.

Enjoy!

Dance, dance

The moment before with Canadian Couple, Anton Belyayev & Karolina Paliwoda (pictured below).


A dandy time with Florian Gschaider & Manuela Stoecki.


Quicksteppin' it with International Open Standard Champions, Benedetto Ferrugia & Claudia Koehler.

Snowball Classic 2007

I just returned from the Sheraton Wall Centre Ballroom where this year's International Ballroom competition, the Snowball Classic was held. The dancers were truly breathtaking and I had a fabulous time watching the event from the front seats. Amazing! I snapped some shots while I was there. Here are a few before I crash into bed. Long night. I will put up the rest tomorrow.

Meet Mookie the Bear

Meet my furry friend Mookie the Bear. He really is a fine fellow. Here are some things Mookie likes:

1. A good bocce ball game.


2. Boating.


Wait! Don't forget your life vest. Safety first, Mookie.


How are you going to drive that Mookie? Crazy Bear.


3. Playing Hide and Seek. Mookie is very good at hiding. See if you can find him in the following pictures. You might have to put on your sleuthing hat and spectacles to crack this case.

Through the looking glass

Today was my first photoshoot on the other side of the lens. And let me tell you, the artistic responsibility of the "Photographer" is quite a bit different than the "Model". How much? Exponentially. I really did have an ignorant misconception of how much is involved in creating an image from the grassroots up. Here are some things that I didn't know before:

1. Gear. There is a lot of gear. And they actually expect you to lug it all around (to where they are). They also expect you to set it up and know how it works. Honestly, do you think that I've ever carried anything, anywhere with these Palmolive hands (this is an exaggeration as I have in fact carried some fruit-type items from Safeway to the car at least three times... Uh.. make that twice). There are lenses, flashes, lights, umbrellas, filters, gels, bounces... Balance for the fluorescents, too much tungsten, we need the blue gels, two lights, three lights, up a stop, down a stop, what's a stop? Stop. Where's the scrim? It's exhausting.

2. No pampering. Where's my chamomile tea? Uh, I have to get it myself? What? There is no tea. None. Go buy some?! What?

3. Direction. As the photographer you have to give directions to... people. Chin down, face the light, rotate this way... I know, horrific.

Until today, I have avoided shooting "people" like nothing else. You see, I am a quiet soul who likes to shoot nice stills of inanimate things. I can go out and happily shoot a fallen leaf, a lonely old sofa, a scrap, a screw, a broken nut or any number of lost and found items living in the crooks and crannies of the world. Alley ways are good. Empty corridors are wonderful. Really, any area small or large where there are no moving people-type things is perfect. You see, people just mess up my artistic vision. They're always in front of the great building, or camped out on the picturesque beach at sunset, or blocking the perfect light on my derelique little scene. Poking their noses where they don't belong. Poke.

This attitude of mine seems to be problematic when trying to make money from photographing people. Money. Oh yes. Yes. Right. That old sofa did not pay a dime for it's stunning portrait. What a cheapskate! Come to think about it, neither did that fallen leaf. How 'bout that.

I love people. Gather here all people and I will take your picture. It will be lovely and you will pay me and I will buy food. Great.

4. Gear. You have to put it away too.

In honour of my transition from one side of the lens to the other, I share with you some outtakes from my 'brief', yet 'intense' "career" as a "model" (note the use of single and double "quotation" marks.) Straight from the contact sheet to you. Voila.


Can't you just feel the fan blowing in your hair? Please don't make fun of the shiny pants. It was during Y2K. We were all a little shiny then, remember?

Isle of Man and Postman Pat

When I was little, my mum and I would travel across the Atlantic to visit my grandparents in the Isle of Man.

The windswept island, located in the middle of the Irish Sea, is home to the Manx cat, TT racing, and a warm population of people seeking tax shelter and good fortune from the many pixie fairies that live on the island. Superstitious lot. Here's a fairy* good link if you would like to learn more about Isle of Man Fairies including, fairy activities, fairy dwelling-places, and human/fairy interactions.

I loved my summers on the Isle of Manx. For a little girl from the Prairies who dreamt of being a marine biologist or a script girl for team Zissou, the beach was wonderland of fun. I spent most of my time scooping up various marine life with my spade and shrimp net and plopping them into beautifully constructed sand bucket habitats. Sustainability of my new saltwater friends in said habitats did not necessarily enter into my mind at the time. Result: Marine life was not sustained in castle-shaped sand bucket. The little fishes and the scuttling crabs and the beady-eyed shrimp all died. Died. I just don't understand. I put plenty of seaweed for them to eat. That's what they eat, right?

So... the next year I took to flying kites and puppetry.

After building the marine habitats, and flying kites, and performing "Jack and the Bean Stalk" with my intricately glued construction paper finger puppets, I watched my favourite show "Postman Pat" (and his black and white cat). I was recently able to revisit the lovable stop-animation teleshow through a new interactive flash site for Postman Pat. Wonderful! You can even watch clips from the show. Oh, it made me so happy to visit Greendale again.



*$.99 Pun Whiz, Special Order, 1989.

Look Up

Where in the world am I?

Here's a super fun game I call: Where in the world is Lisa? It sure seems fun, doesn't it?

Object of game: Identify the location of the above picture.
Hint 1#: North America would be a good place to start your map quest.

Exposed: Germfest 2007

72 hours ago I was not sick. Now I am. This week on "Exposed" we explore possible reasons why I am currently sick. This is hard hitting news people. Be prepared.

Before we begin, let's take a look some possible infection sites that I have encountered in the last 72 hours.

1. The internet.
2. "24" on DVD.
3. My refrigerator.
4. Things that have collected underneath my couch including: 2 black pens, 1 white sport sock, 3 paper clips, and a post-it listing the following items: bread, lettuce, tomatoes and bacon. That sounds like a good old fashioned BLT, if you ask me.
5. The doctor's office.

Now, let's look at the facts:
1. You can't get viruses from the internet with a Mac.
2. Jack Bauer stopped the virus threat before it spread across the Canadian border.
3. There is nothing in my refrigerator except packages of ketchup and those puppies are AIR locked.
4. It's implausible that a list of BLT ingredients could spread a nasty cold virus.
5. but a doctor's office... A ha!

Here's where the "A-ha!" came from:
Sick people go to the doctor because they're sick. They bring their sick bodies into the doctor's office and cough and puke and wipe their sticky, drippy noses all over the chairs, examining tables, and door knobs. Germs. Everywhere.

I'm pretty sure that the sick people don't wipe up their sick messes, and the doctors sure don't have time to disinfect between patients, and I'm dead certain that the office helper lady with the frazzled peroxide hair and 4 inch lee press-ons isn't getting off her sweet ass to do anything about the big rave cave of fun that is Germfest 2007.

And so I ask the hard hitting question that is on all of our minds: "What about the germs?" Exactly, what about the germs. I think the proof is in the pudding.

A recipe for proof pudding:
72 hours ago I went to the doctor for a routine check up. I wasn't sick, but everyone in the waiting room was sick. Sick. Yes, sick with germs. Go on now, hammer it home: The doctor's office made me sick (pictured below).



Awareness:
The doctor's office is a germ party. An all-inclusive airborne party that likes to spread fun times to everyone. But I'm on to you germs! You and your friends better find another place to party.

And the winner is...

Meet Snasserson

He's a friendly fellow who likes to dance in his red shoes.

Remembering Oak Bay High

Look. There I am in high school. A bit needy of attention, aren't we? Good thing I got over that! Phew.

Let's revisit the ol' green and white, shall we?
Pictures circa 2005, post new paint job. I do miss the old pink and blue, East and West buildings -- they kind of reminded me of a pair mismatched socks. Cute.



My entrance of choice. Cool kids only. That is until my tag and locker got moved to the west. Worst tag ever: Marcelass.


Most of my Grade 12 year was spent on this track in Bultlermania. I initially signed up for the 4x100 relay (shortest distance, least pressure), but got roped into running cross-country (much much longer than 100m) and the 400m (oh boy did you ever feel those last 300m. Hitting the wall, indeed.)

Part of my Grade 9 year was also spent on this track. But instead of running, I was marching, yes marching around the track in BandNerdmania. Preparation for the Oak Bay Tea Party and the Victoria Day Parade required many lunch hours of concentrated marching while playing. Step lightly. And I did. The fat kid with the Tuba, not so much. We rocked those parades playing the theme songs from "The Muppet Show" and "Indiana Jones" and my flute trills were spectacular.

The upside: Playing Indiana Jones theme in Disneyland, then going on the new Indiana Jones ride. Special.

The down sides:
- Public ridicule
- Wearing 100 year-old heavy, wool jackets, shoes made of plastic, and see-through white polyester pants (I always forgot to hem mine, so at the last minute I would tape the pant bottom to my leg. Smart move. Maybe not)
- Witnessing Disney theme park characters without their heads on. Up until this point, I was pretty sure they were real.


I ate my lunches here under the willow trees. Alone. Out of choice. I felt more connected to the earth that way.


Leaving memory lane. Come back soon.

NB. This post has nothing to do with recently signing up for Facebook. Nothing at all. Loser.

Greetings from VGH

Photos taken inside and outside the Vancouver General Hospital. It is amazing what you can find just around the corner.