>
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Friday, September 23, 2005
it's 425 pm...
and my eyes hurt.
fun time waster (and super cute to boot!)
Draw a Pig Personality Test
my buta-chan =)
and my eyes hurt.
fun time waster (and super cute to boot!)
Draw a Pig Personality Test
my buta-chan =)
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
in a TIFF
september has flown by in a delightful sun-drenched whirl. some of the highlights include: the inagural meal at the Balkan Bistro of Liz and I's Fun Food Club*; meeting Panda; Labour Day weekend adventures dtown with AJ; "Gambare Matsui!"; making a good impression on MYM's friend...
One of the best nights out was last thursday when Ms Ashley and I headed to the Cumberland for my very first TIFF experience! Due to a series of fortunate and unfortunate events, AJ gave us two tickets to see Linda Linda Linda by Yamashita Nobuhiro.
it was AWESOME!!!
Pre-film we headed over to the Coffee Mill and tried out some typical Hungarian dishes (their goulash is really good!), and then went to line up 45 minutes early. We scored a pretty sweet spot, and after a half hour or so, Laura and I were giggly with anticipation. We found seats right in the middle of the theatre, flanked by groupings of cute J-boys and girls and waited for the movie to start.
we both had such a good time watching this movie... It was a perfect mix of innocence, goofiness, sweetness, surrealism and hilarity. The Korean lead, Bae Du-Na, stole every scene she was in, and I was a bit nostalgic for adorable J-kids, bunkasais, and conbinis. I loved how Yamashita treated the high school love stories with such gravity-remember those days when it was all about the boy and school and your friends? Oh, to be young again =)
if the Cultural Centre shows this in the near future, y'all have to see it! Sooo fun =)
linda linda linda || blue hearts
Dobu nezumi
mitai ni
utsukushiku naritai
shashin ni wa utsuranai
utsukushisa ga aru kara...
I look like a rat
yet want to be beautiful
it doesn’t show in pictures
because there is beauty there...
*name is not a reflection of our creative abilities. i swear.
september has flown by in a delightful sun-drenched whirl. some of the highlights include: the inagural meal at the Balkan Bistro of Liz and I's Fun Food Club*; meeting Panda; Labour Day weekend adventures dtown with AJ; "Gambare Matsui!"; making a good impression on MYM's friend...
One of the best nights out was last thursday when Ms Ashley and I headed to the Cumberland for my very first TIFF experience! Due to a series of fortunate and unfortunate events, AJ gave us two tickets to see Linda Linda Linda by Yamashita Nobuhiro.
it was AWESOME!!!
Pre-film we headed over to the Coffee Mill and tried out some typical Hungarian dishes (their goulash is really good!), and then went to line up 45 minutes early. We scored a pretty sweet spot, and after a half hour or so, Laura and I were giggly with anticipation. We found seats right in the middle of the theatre, flanked by groupings of cute J-boys and girls and waited for the movie to start.
we both had such a good time watching this movie... It was a perfect mix of innocence, goofiness, sweetness, surrealism and hilarity. The Korean lead, Bae Du-Na, stole every scene she was in, and I was a bit nostalgic for adorable J-kids, bunkasais, and conbinis. I loved how Yamashita treated the high school love stories with such gravity-remember those days when it was all about the boy and school and your friends? Oh, to be young again =)
if the Cultural Centre shows this in the near future, y'all have to see it! Sooo fun =)
linda linda linda || blue hearts
Dobu nezumi
mitai ni
utsukushiku naritai
shashin ni wa utsuranai
utsukushisa ga aru kara...
I look like a rat
yet want to be beautiful
it doesn’t show in pictures
because there is beauty there...
*name is not a reflection of our creative abilities. i swear.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
And I don't understand the same things you do
is it true that once you learn something you can't unlearn it?
|i|
behaviourists would argue that it's the consequence of the action which determines the strength of the learned pattern/event. thus, a new and stronger behaviour would have to be imprinted over the old one in order for unlearning to take place. though i would agree somewhat with skinner et al, there has to be something more than a basic anticipation of consequence that determines why we do the things we do. cognitivists are great at boxing and labelling mental processes into neat packages, all interlocking and interacting properly like little blocks of lego. behaviour is determined by the activation of certain nodes which are dependent on the frequency of exposure to certain patterns/ideas. thus, behaviour is explained in a more top-down method, and changes in behaviour depend on the mental interactions vs physical ones.
but really, a satisfactory answer probably lies in the messy gray that exists between the two.
|ii|
the process of unlearning...forgetting...backtracking...has romantic but gloomy overtones to it, doesn't it? it reminds me of Ms Havisham's upstairs parlour-a museum of stunted memory: decaying roses, heavily curtained windows, deep-seated aching. does all vestiges of a memory ever leave your person? can you ever unknow a person?
is it true that once you learn something you can't unlearn it?
|i|
behaviourists would argue that it's the consequence of the action which determines the strength of the learned pattern/event. thus, a new and stronger behaviour would have to be imprinted over the old one in order for unlearning to take place. though i would agree somewhat with skinner et al, there has to be something more than a basic anticipation of consequence that determines why we do the things we do. cognitivists are great at boxing and labelling mental processes into neat packages, all interlocking and interacting properly like little blocks of lego. behaviour is determined by the activation of certain nodes which are dependent on the frequency of exposure to certain patterns/ideas. thus, behaviour is explained in a more top-down method, and changes in behaviour depend on the mental interactions vs physical ones.
but really, a satisfactory answer probably lies in the messy gray that exists between the two.
|ii|
the process of unlearning...forgetting...backtracking...has romantic but gloomy overtones to it, doesn't it? it reminds me of Ms Havisham's upstairs parlour-a museum of stunted memory: decaying roses, heavily curtained windows, deep-seated aching. does all vestiges of a memory ever leave your person? can you ever unknow a person?
Sunday, September 11, 2005
homecoming
on thursday, my brother took remy out, and for some reason thought it would be a good idea to tie her up to the court door while he played tennis. remy doesn't like being away from her family members, especially when we're in clear sight. as a result, she became really distressed, and started pawing furiously at the asphalt in attempts to extricate herself from an unwanted exile.
when they got home, most of the pads on the bottom of her paws started peeling and fell off. my brother taped her up, and she limped around gingerly for the rest of the night. i came home to this sad bandaged-up version of remy and could only sigh, as she seems to get into lots of trouble whenever seiji decides to take her out.
i didn't see her for the rest of the weekend, but when i got home this morning, she was back to her old self, pads healed, bounding and wagging and pinning me with her adorable come-play-with-me stare. later, when i got back from sending my mom to church, my dad was downstairs, watching the japanese elections on the NHK channel. Remy hurtled down the stairs to be with us, and began wagging excitedly as i pulled out one of her favourite toys.
my dad smiled, stroked her affectionately under her chin and remarked, "genki da ne, remy?" he then turned to me and said, "i think she missed you. she had no energy last night, and just stayed in your room all night. she didn't even want to walk very far yesterday." later my mother, amused by remy's playfulness, said, "oooh remy! you know, she kept on going up and down, up and down to your room looking for you yesterday!"
after lunch, i sat on the kitchen floor with her while she dog-napped in a fat chunk of sunlight and read the sunday paper, always aware of her breathing and her warmth.
on thursday, my brother took remy out, and for some reason thought it would be a good idea to tie her up to the court door while he played tennis. remy doesn't like being away from her family members, especially when we're in clear sight. as a result, she became really distressed, and started pawing furiously at the asphalt in attempts to extricate herself from an unwanted exile.
when they got home, most of the pads on the bottom of her paws started peeling and fell off. my brother taped her up, and she limped around gingerly for the rest of the night. i came home to this sad bandaged-up version of remy and could only sigh, as she seems to get into lots of trouble whenever seiji decides to take her out.
i didn't see her for the rest of the weekend, but when i got home this morning, she was back to her old self, pads healed, bounding and wagging and pinning me with her adorable come-play-with-me stare. later, when i got back from sending my mom to church, my dad was downstairs, watching the japanese elections on the NHK channel. Remy hurtled down the stairs to be with us, and began wagging excitedly as i pulled out one of her favourite toys.
my dad smiled, stroked her affectionately under her chin and remarked, "genki da ne, remy?" he then turned to me and said, "i think she missed you. she had no energy last night, and just stayed in your room all night. she didn't even want to walk very far yesterday." later my mother, amused by remy's playfulness, said, "oooh remy! you know, she kept on going up and down, up and down to your room looking for you yesterday!"
after lunch, i sat on the kitchen floor with her while she dog-napped in a fat chunk of sunlight and read the sunday paper, always aware of her breathing and her warmth.
Monday, September 05, 2005
makes sense
the transition from summer to fall has been quite painless, as the weather has been gorgeous, keeping the hope for an indian summer alive and well. i've always believed that living in a 4-season climate is such a boon to people's characters. we run the gamut of emotions with such unpredicatable weather, and as a result, i would like to think have a better appreciation for the beautiful days. I've noticed the appreciation is not based in the transience of the phenomenon, like it is in Japan, but a v.North American let's-get-everything-we-can-outta-this attitude which is great.
the great weather has made me really relax and i think as a result, i've noticed recently how...tactile some experiences are becoming. i was wearing ballet flats the other day, and had to walk across the lobby floor to leave work. My heels made that 'click click' sound that i immediately associate with elementary school hallways and teacher's heels. for a second i saw that long dark hallway in the junior wing at Orchard Park and could almost feel the cool flooring underneath my palm.
Even this morning, i woke up to bright bright sunshine filtering through the blinds. Floating alongside this was the smell of freshly cut grass, as our crazy neighbour had just mowed his lawn. That smell, along with the smell of sunscreen, chlorine, barbeques and lakes, smacks of summer. I could see the dark green of our backyard in Stouffville. In certain spots, if you rolled over a little bit, in a particular direction, the backs of your legs and arms would move from a soothing and cool blanket of grass, whose blades bent and adjusted, to a section of grass where the blades stood prickly, hotly, poking the soft undersides of your limbs.
the transition from summer to fall has been quite painless, as the weather has been gorgeous, keeping the hope for an indian summer alive and well. i've always believed that living in a 4-season climate is such a boon to people's characters. we run the gamut of emotions with such unpredicatable weather, and as a result, i would like to think have a better appreciation for the beautiful days. I've noticed the appreciation is not based in the transience of the phenomenon, like it is in Japan, but a v.North American let's-get-everything-we-can-outta-this attitude which is great.
the great weather has made me really relax and i think as a result, i've noticed recently how...tactile some experiences are becoming. i was wearing ballet flats the other day, and had to walk across the lobby floor to leave work. My heels made that 'click click' sound that i immediately associate with elementary school hallways and teacher's heels. for a second i saw that long dark hallway in the junior wing at Orchard Park and could almost feel the cool flooring underneath my palm.
Even this morning, i woke up to bright bright sunshine filtering through the blinds. Floating alongside this was the smell of freshly cut grass, as our crazy neighbour had just mowed his lawn. That smell, along with the smell of sunscreen, chlorine, barbeques and lakes, smacks of summer. I could see the dark green of our backyard in Stouffville. In certain spots, if you rolled over a little bit, in a particular direction, the backs of your legs and arms would move from a soothing and cool blanket of grass, whose blades bent and adjusted, to a section of grass where the blades stood prickly, hotly, poking the soft undersides of your limbs.
