Nobody could’ve asked for better weather, for a better turn out of loving friends and family, for a better location right in front of Trinity Bellwoods, or for a better studio/gallery space to foster creativity and inspire brilliant ideas. Miracle Thieves, the creation of Miss Tiffany Naval and Jennifer Maramba, is a multi-disciplinary space that the two artists work out of, as well as invite all to (re)discover the inner child within themselves. Workshopping, gallery/retail spacing, open studio-ing are just some of the things that Miracle Thieves offer — the rest is up to your imagination.

[Left to Right, Cole, Christine, Ben, myself, Regina]

A couple of months back I was asked to be part of the Tales From the Flipside Festival, hosted by the Carlos Bulosan Theatre. It was a really dope experience to get back into acting. I haven’t done it since… oh Grade 11 when I got kicked out of Theatre Company in high school because my drama teacher was a CRAZY. (Long story. She was crazy, though.) Nevertheless, I really loved acting in this play reading, and have hopes to do it again in the future!

This past Saturday, my boy Giles hollered at me to take photos for an art show that he curated at the Capital on Queen west. The artist, Cristina Allen, who is also a naturapath and has some of the coolest tattoos I’ve ever seen on a chick, was displaying her watercolor pieces inspired by women of the 1930’s-50’s era. The night was expectedly wonderful. Many people came out throughout the night, vinyl throwbacks that make your heart warm and fuzzy were provided by Phantom Signal, aka Josh McGuirk and Nick Fox, and there was some live hand rolled cigars gwannin’ by Frank Correnti. They were some serious fatties, yo! Thanks to everyone who came out and bought a $4 Steamwhistle, cooled out and enjoyed the good vibes. Stay posted, Giles will be throwing more art shows at the Capital in the near future!

The past month working on this mini-doc has been such an incredible learning experience. The piece isn’t perfect and there’s so much I wish I could’ve done to make it something more, but the fact that I know the work isn’t finished, excites me. I think what I value most through this was being able to establish some real connections, and being given the privilege to be let into a world that is not my own. This is only the beginning. This isn’t just about a Graffiti war that’s being waged with Ford. This goes beyond that: this is about the system that we live in and recognizing we have a voice to speak up about it’s injustices.
Whether you choose to be idle or do something through some sort of medium that you excel at, whether that IS graffiti art, writing, music, dancing, film, photography… I provoke you to be more intentional with your talents. Join the movement and cause a ruckus with me. Silence is over-rated. This is our city.

Mad Love to everyone who helped put this together. My team, Dylan Mc Fadyen and Eric Kupp; the artists, Teaser, Under the Radar, Zion; the soundtrack, gripski, askyaluv, fate, switch b, sunclef, hector, and special shouts to Giles Monette, Water, Jedi, Skam, and The Bombshelter.

Now share this sh*t!!! Join the movement.

Thanks to Che Kothari‘s facebook status looking for dates to come to this wonderful event tomorrow night with Spike Lee, I hollered some pretty valid reasons as to why I should be chosen to attend: 1. Film maker, film maker! 2. I dressed up as Mars Blackmon for Halloween one year, and 3. I used to rock a pair of Jordan Spizzikes. LOL.

I really didn’t think I’d get chosen, but hey, guess who’s going tomorrow?! Bwaaahhaha! In celebration of Black History Month, the Canadian Film Centre is sponsoring this close and personal talk with Spike Lee. SA-FREAKIN-WEET.

With all that being said… Here’s somethin’ to give you a laugh and a half:

[Jeff, myself, and Shihan]

Talk about a full house!! I haven’t seen a UHHU event get that crazy since I’ve been at Rye High. I’m sure that I’m not alone in saying that I was astounded by the support and response of all who attended this event this past Friday. World renown spoken word poet (HBO Def Jam Poetry), Shihan, made his first Canadian appearance right here in Toronto. A discussion about Love and Hip Hop, Shihan got real personal on the mic about his thoughts, inspirations, and how he’s been shaped by the experiences of Love in his life.

[Class Photo! Bottom row, 3rd from the right is my beautifurr Angie!]

If there is any other woman who can hold a full conversation with me in a Chinese accent and do the ugliest silliest dance moves that could battle my signature “limp arms”, it would be Angie Choi. Extremely talented photographer, super hott and stylish fashionista, and the most fabulous deep set dimples my eyes have ever seen, this girl is always a joy to be around and has easily become one of my new favorite girlfriends over the past year. I love this girl like a sister and am excited to learn more about photography, love, and life through her!

A few days ago, one of Angie’s photos got chosen to be featured in the Best Of 2010: Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. It’s a really wicked pic of some of our dancer friends, and what I love the most about it is that it was nothing staged or preconceived: it’s a split-second moment of what looked like a pretty crazy time, captured for all eternity.

I don’t have many, but here are the photos of that night:

It was probably during the beginning of last semester that my two RTA grandkids Scott Fisher and Jake Morris approached me and asked me if I wanted to be part of their production team for a reality TV show called The Avenue. Now, being busy doing my own thing with Lovehard and Reality TV not really being up my alley, I declined but told them I would do everything in my capacity to support and push the show. I cannot tell you how proud I am to see this trailer and to see all their ideas and hard work come to fruition!! It makes me wish that I had said yes instead! In the words of the gorgeous redhead, Rachel, that you see in the trailer, This show looks so “legit!”

The things that come out of those darned RTA kids, I’m tellin ya. Tune in on January 25th for the premiere of The Avenue!

Now here’s the trailer, exclusively on Youtube star Gregory Gorgeous’ channel.
(Note: The trailer commences at 3 minutes!)

[Catherine giving me a facial treatment]

Entering the gorgeous modern condo-turned-into-relaxation-haven, Angie and I were instantly hit with the aroma of delicious sweet and citrus ingredients. I looked around at the decor that hung on the walls and knew straight away that this was undeniably Catherine’s creative abode. Traditional Filipino quilts, and framed posters of Catherine’s plays displayed itself sharing her many talents in the arts — a traditional Filipino dancer, a playwright, writer, and now esthetician, Catherine embodies it all.

“So you want me to get naked or what?!?” I asked her, ready to strip off my clothes and get some sugary things scrubbed on my face. Changing into a towel and getting comfy on the massage table, Catherine began to work her magic on my 5 foot achey little body. As her hands ebbed like the tide, back and forth, applying pressure and releasing stresses, I asked her what got her to this point, to open up her own home spa.

And so Winter  break commences! Classes are over but exams are upon me. Thankfully I’ve only got two and they’re soft tings (or so I think, lol). Plans for the winter holiday? Weelllps… I’m sure not going home to Vancouver for Christmas, sigh, which is okay with me considering I picked up a winter seasonal job and making some mad coin right now is my first priority… To be completely frank, I want take this time to really rejuvenate and get some personal projects done. They’ve been sitting on the back burner for a minute now and we all know that never feels too good to have things looming! Other than that, a whole crap load of events are hitting my agenda and it’s that time of year in Toronto that even though snow and cold likes to taunt us… we just retaliate by partying even harder!

Here’s a roll call of  the events gwannin’ this week, in case ya’ll are experiencing some cabin fever and need to get out! Check: