photography from cadaver bells and gypsy spells

as promised, here are a few shots from last weekend from the "cadaver bells & gypsy spells" video.

no trespassing

here's a sneak peak of one of the shots from our new video, "cadaver bells & gypsy spells."

keep on the lookout, i'll be posting more throughout the day!

the bee's knees

i hope everyone had a lovely long weekend. mine was spent in the countryside, enjoying all that grey county has to offer. on monday i was lucky enough to catch jamie and his bees in all their glory. for someone who has never been stung by a bee, this was as close as i could stand to the bees without freaking out. the smoke may make them docile, but there are still hundreds of them flying around like drunk little soldiers. as you can see, first he smokes the hive, which i found out puts them into "fire mode" which initiates a feeding response in anticipation of possible hive abandonment due to fire. the smoke also masks alarm pheromones released by guard bees or when bees are squashed in an inspection. basically this confuses the bee's allowing jamie to work without triggering a defensive reaction. after the bees have been smoked, he removes the honey and it's placed into a metal tub which spins all of the honey out of the honeycomb. then he opens the hatch, strains and voila, you've got honey. he even let me take a jar home, and trust me, nothing tastes better than fresh honey spread on toast after a long day baking in the sun.

the warning message

i hope everyone is able to find some way to escape the norm just for one day this long weekend. whether you're camped out at the beach, at a forest rave (ha), or at home with a book, take some time for yourself. nothing but miles and miles of open road and green fields for me. see you all next week, hopefully well rested.

value village find: eaton's deluxe typewriter ($7)

last night i braved the heat and scoped out my local value village yet again. and lucky me because i found the typewriter of my dreams. a sleek, charcoal, eaton's deluxe portable, manual typewriter. she's fully operational and even came with the original carrying case and all for a cool $7. i checked it out online and found that this brand, in good condition, can sell for around $150 so i think i got a good deal.

a stroll through the bouquinistes

one of the most memorable spot in paris for me was the bouquinistes stalls along the seine river. this is where you can find over 200 vendors, selling rare, new and used books / sheet music and other small collectibles while walking along the seine river. everything is contained in these large green, metal boxes (which you can see above) and around lunch time they open them all and expose all their little treasures. we picked up lots of sheet music, old postcards, and a couple prints. what you see above framed is just some of what we picked up and now have on display.

book hit-list: a moveable feast

in case you missed the original post, this summer i have dedicated myself to catching up on what i consider the literary basics. books i should have read by now, but they've somehow slipped through the cracks. the first book i can cross off the list is a moveable feast by ernest hemingway (which callum picked up in paris at shakespeare and company, the very store hemingway devotes a chapter to describing in the novel). this review may be a little prejudiced as i just traveled to paris last september, but reading this book brought me back to that little cafe just outside of our apartment. hemingway can describe a scene like no other, he's straight to the point, with little use of abjectives, but he still paints a beautiful picture and you feel like you're sitting right beside him taking it all in. the book is a memoir to his early days in paris (1920's) as a poor, but happy writer. you meet prolific writers along the way, such as scott fitzgerald and james joyce. i'd like to hear what people think of the book who have not visited paris themselves, because if you have, i don't see how you couldn't fall in love with it.

next up on my book hit-list is brave new world by aldous huxley. a novel which anticipates how humans will approach reproductive technology in the future, and our changing society. let's hope i won't be able to put this one down as well.

cheap finds

$9.99 - winners clearance rack

callum found this for $6.99 - value village

from callum's old camera collection - free for me haha

small glasses $2.99 - value village

wedgewood china $1.99 - value village

wedgewood china $8.99 for 6 - value village

two lamps for $20 - homesense clearance rack

here are a couple vintage or extremely cheap finds that are scattered around the loft. locations + prices are listed beneath. i think the best deal would be the two lamps i picked up for $20 from homesense, can't beat that.

life drawing at ben navaee gallery

last night callum and i attended a free life drawing class at ben navaee gallery in leslieville. they offer an array of classes, ranging from yoga, guitar, sculpture, photography all the way to holistic exercises. each tuesday they offer a free life drawing class from 7 - 9pm, so grab your sketchbook, load up on pencils (+ eraser) and pop in next time you're in the neighbourhood.

vintage shopping in leslieville

gadabout

this past saturday i went shopping along the leslieville strip. the place is swarming with antique shops. i came across a fantastic record store called discovery used and collector records, and all the records were 50% off (my kind of deal). i didn't end up buying anything, but the posters they had on the wall were to die for (but unfortunately not 50% off). i then visited my FAVOURITE vintage store gadabout, i seem to make my way down there atleast once a week. just look at all the shoes! (all around $60-$80 dollars) they have a wide assortment of pretty much anything you're looking for. old straight razors, harmonicas, leather jackets, flapper hats, letterpress blocks, jewelery, SHOES, anything! it's all very reasonably priced as well.