Goodbye Blogger, I'm breaking up with you.

I don't post here anymore. Go to my newish blog: www.claudiapuchiele.tumblr.com

I've grown out of Blogger, it's just too flashy for me. I'm going for something a little more simplistic now. Tumblr can offer me what Blogger can't. I'm sorry Blogger, but it's not me, it's you. We both know it wasn't working out, I barely posted on you at all for the last year or so. I'd still like to be friends and occasionally post goofier things here, but with Tumblr it's just more serious. I know it hurts now, but in time you'll begin to understand. Thanks for all the good memories.

"Whenever the wind whistles through the wind I'll think 'Lowenstein, lowenstien'" - Marge Simpson, I think confusing her therapist for the one from The Prince of Tides. I don't know, I've never actually seen The Prince of Tides, Barbara Streisand is mannish and irritating.

New job.

I have a new job! At school! Assisting the repair technician! That means I fix cameras and tripods and stuff! Money, here I come!

Need money

Oh man, I just checked my chequing (that's how we spell it in Canada) account balance and it's frightening how little money I have. And to make matters worse, Amnesty International is going to take 11 dollars out of there in a few weeks, that's 11 dollars that I simply cannot spare, and they've been doing it for over a year now. I don't even fully know what Amnesty International is, I just stared at the beautiful face of the canvaser as he yammered on about human rights or something and then blindly wrote him a cheque as drool hung out of my mouth. That's how those charities reel you in, dreamy canvassers. Nobody ever stops to talk to the obnoxious ones who ask you to hang out a while and be their friends, because people hate that shit. But all the ladies will stop for the shaggy haired, soft-voiced dreamboat with the pale blue eyes and effortlessly striking grin that shows off his perfect teeth that probably never needed any painful and embarrassing orthodontic work...

Anyways, all I really want to do is process the negatives from my trip. And have enough money to get into the CNE this weekend and eat all of the heart-clogging carnival food.

Road trip

I just got back from a Canadian East coast road trip. I had an amazing time and met some awesome people. Unfortunately, the trip drained me of what little money I had, and since I no longer have my shitty projectionist job (Cineplex decided that mid-summer was a good time to go all digital), I can't process my negatives from the trip until I have replenished my bank account. So photos and stories soon to come.

An ode to live performances

So here's what's what. Sometimes the live version just blows the album out of the water. That's the case with many songs performed in the Talking Heads documentary Stop Making Sense, which, dare I say, is the best "rock n' roll" documentary I've ever watched. I saw it at the Bloor Cinema a few years ago and it turned me from a flakey, occasional listener into a full fledged Talking Heads fan.

Here's why I love this part of the movie that I've provided for your viewing pleasure. It gave Talking Heads lead singer David Byrne the opportunity to go backstage and change into his infamous "Big Suit", while showcasing the talents of bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer/husband Chris Frantz as they play a song from their side-project band Tom Tom Club. Also it made me realize that I wanted to be Tina Weymouth, mostly because she's gorgeous, talented, and married to a hot man, but even more so because I want her outfit. Unfortunately I found out that it's on display at "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" in Cleveland, Ohio, which is sort of a waste of an awesome outfit if you ask me.

Apparently Weymouth was told by the director that this song was not going to be featured in the final cut of the film, but that they were just performing to keep the audience happy. She was apparently a little angry when it did end up in the movie, but I think she's crazy because like I said at the beginning of this rambling post, sometimes the live performance is just better than the album.

Sesame Street - "C Drives Me Crazy"

The Fine Young Cannibals should be flattered that their song was parodied in a Sesame Street episode. It is the ultimate compliment.

And I am flattered that The Fine Young Camel (ingenious!) did an ode to the letter "C", it really is the best letter in the alphabet.

WORKER & PARASITE

One of my very favorite Simpsons moments. Season 4, the golden years.

To the jerk who killed my cat.

I didn't want to taint the sadness of my last post with the anger I feel towards the asshole who hit my cat and drove off, so I wrote a separate one. If by some wonderous miracle the person who killed my cat while driving along Vaughan Road in Toronto on the morning of June 4, 2011 stumbles upon my blog I have nothing to say to you but this: Fuck you. I hope YOU get hit by a car and are left to die in the middle of the road.

Alley

This is the only photo I could find on my computer of my sweet Alley cat. I don't know why I didn't take more photos of her. She was hit by a car on Saturday morning and killed. I didn't find out until yesterday, and I'm pretty sure this is the saddest I've ever felt about the death of a pet. It's the worst feeling ever, and I miss her more than anything.

Summer is for learning.

I've finally decided that it is time for me to learn how to drive. I've gone nearly 22 years without having to do it, but I think Graeme and my mom are both tired of driving me around most of the time. So in an effort to prepare for my G1 test (learner's permit in the States?) I've started taking sample tests online which are apparently true to what one would receive in an actual test environment. At the end of the test you get your score and an html code of the score "badge" to put on your blog, livejournal, twitter, facebook, etc. Dorkiest thing ever, but who am I to complain? I usually don't test well. So I took their suggestion and copied the html and pasted it below. Yep.

Apparently grammar is not a priority.

Doug got married.

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Originally uploaded by claud-hop

My old teacher/new friend Doug Friesen got married in March, just got the photos back yesterday. There's Doug and his new wife Liz, cutting the cake, and David Field taking a photo of me taking a photo of them. That's some post-modern shit or something. Congratulations Doug and Liz.

My friend goo

Seven year old me, taken by my cousin Aldo. He used to get me and my other cousins to do lot's of wacky stuff for the sake of his art. I remember I bought that goo at the dollar store, and it made farting sounds when you squished it. I was so excited to show Aldo, and as usual he was just as excited as me. Once he made a series of films involving me, my cousin Veronica, and my Cousin Luca, each one revolving around the theme of Fluff (the marshmallow spread).

Old film.

Expired Fuji Sensia 100 slide film I found in a drawer in my house. I'm 99.9% sure it belonged to my mom, but since it expired in 1997, I assumed she wasn't planning on using it. The colours were a little wonkier in the originals slides, but I did some minor editing to make them look slightly more normal. I took these in September, when we went camping at Killbear. If you look closely in the last photo, you can see deer!

Brody

This is my dog Brody. She's coooooool.

Don't judge me.

Grid

From January. Had to shoot it twice because the first time the flash didn't sync up to the shutter properly. Pain in my ass I tells ya. So now you know, this is what it looks like when a bunch of young, white people wear tuques (with the exception of Nicole Kim, and Christian Arab). Oh my god, why is practically everyone in the photography program at Ryerson caucasian?? Yikes.

New Look

My blog is different! And hey, I made that banner! Not blogger. Claudia.

Nap

I took this! I just found out it was selected to be part of the Function Fundraiser Exhibition at the Steam Whistle Brewery from April 6 to the 29th. Hooray! It also might be on the Steam Whistle website along with my " artist bio".

Ms. Pacman

Ladies and gentlemen: I present to you for your consideration, Ms. Pacman.

It's me.

My friend Ben took this photo of me at school the other day. He's working on his book project for our Visual Studies class. Something that I too must start working on...

It's taken with a 4x5 with a polaroid back, and selective focus on the facial region. Fancy, I know. I hyper-linked his name so you may view his blog at your earliest convenience.

Rick Moranis- break me off a piece of that...

Instead of going out into the world today to see the real people, I stayed at home and watched "Little Shop of Horrors" with my cat. This led me to ponder, could there be anyone any hotter than Rick Moranis? My friend Maddy and I certainly don't think so. Although he's usually playing the dork, he still manages to always have a relatively hot wife by his side in most roles. That's because nerdy go-getters are babes. A fact created my me. You know that scene in "Honey I Shrunk the Kids", where he's trying to find the mini children in the backyard before his wife gets home, and he suspends himself from that crazy clothesline-hammock contraption while wearing a helmet with a giant magnifying glass attached to it? Made me swoon. I also thought to myself "My god, what a fantastic father he must be." Then I found out that he retired from show business to spend more time with his kids, and my hypothesis was confirmed. Did I mention that he is from Toronto, much like myself? AND to top it all off, he went to elementary school with rock sensation Geddy Lee. Wow. Rick Moranis, not only are you ravishingly sexy, but you're an excellent human being. Thank you for existing.

catcher

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Originally uploaded by claud-hop

Pulling an artist statement out of your butt 25 minutes before you have to hand in and talk about a print is a skill all on its own...

Image and Text

For this image, I wanted to recreate a fragment of the dream-like vision that Holden Caulfield describes to his little sister, Phoebe, in the novel The Catcher In The Rye. His vision spawns from his misinterpretation of the Robert Burns poem Comin’ Through The Rye, in which one of the lines reads “If a body meet a body”; whereas he believes the line to be “If a body catch a body”. He tells his sister that he sees himself standing in this big field of rye, and his job is to find the children that are inexplicably playing in it, and catch them, should they fall. The image displays a soft colour palate, which I intentionally chose in order to keep with the dreamy tone of Holden’s vision. The way the words above his head are displayed are meant to suggest the feeling of falling, representing the falling children in his vision, as well as Holden’s own declining mental health, which is described by him throughout the novel.

Revelation

It just occurred to me, I want to create a successful surf rock band. Note to self: make that happen.

Data

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Originally uploaded by claud-hop

I know taking pet photos is the ultimate in bad photographic form, but I don't care, I have some really cute animal friends.

Team Discovery Channel

discovery
Originally uploaded by claud-hop

In case you were wondering, the post title is a quote from The Simpsons. Martin says it.

Shot this on Wards Island, early December 2010. Seems like ages ago now... My Hasselblad back is old and weird and has light leaks. Must get a new one.

Letter

I wrote a letter to Bruce McCulloch, but obviously have no way of contacting him, so I'm going to post it here, in the hopes that one day he will be googling himself out of boredom and slight vanity, and come across this post.

Dear Bruce McCulloch,

I have been a fan of Kids in the Hall, and you particularly, for some time now. I watched the show when I was a kid, and though I found you to be one of the funniest in the troupe, I also thought you to be somewhat creepy and unattractive. Lately, however, I have been re-watching Kids in the Hall episodes, and I have begun to wonder: is Bruce McCulloch hot? I can't seem to decide. I was hoping you could give me some insight on the matter. I need you to tell me if you are hot, or not. Should I be attracted to you? On the one hand, you have very chiseled features, and you're pretty built. And when you wear that heavy metal wig when your playing the angsty teenager, you look a lot like my high school boyfriend. But on the other, you have a really creepy stare, and nod your head a lot when you talk in a strange way that I can't explain, but you probably know what I mean, and you seem like you'd be really weird in bed.

If you could get back to me at your earliest convenience, it would be greatly appreciated, as this problem has been plaguing me for weeks. I just need to decide, that way if my friends ever mention you I can either say "Yeah, Bruce McCulloch, he's a total babe" or "Eww, not Bruce McCulloch, he looks like his breath would smell". Also, when I say Bruce McCulloch, I mean Bruce McCulloch circa 1989-1994.

Sincerely yours,

Claudia Puchiele

P.S. I'm not a loon, this is meant to be funny. Seriously, I think you're really cool.

P.P.S. Does your breath smell bad??

KITH Night of the Living Dead

Needed to cheer up, so I've been watching Kids in the Hall, season 1 (Graeme got it for me for Christmas). They are funny in ways that other sketch comedy troupes can only dream to be. I really like that they didn't do celebrity impressions or bombard their audience with parodies of current events. It's just random (but intelligent) comedy. So good.

Smokey

This is me and my cat Smokey, taken last April. I love her so much. She's the sweetest, most well mannered cat I've ever encountered in my short, 21 year existence. She loved to be cuddled and pampered, and enjoyed eating popcorn and dunking her paws in the water bowl. She died yesterday, and I miss her more than I ever thought possible.