We Mine Deeper

How you have failed me, invisible lines that pull image onto my screen. Those lines that trawl information from afar. Friends had to scoop them up and mail them before you find the nugget bytes first. Like links to whorecraft real-life porn via a girl in korea (nsfw). or a dope music blog via a giffer in Vancouver (#gifgang). yes, whorecraft to music blogs. the world is a perilous place.

here’s another that took a year for the lines to find. History of Our World – one of the most compelling image and text blogs I have come across in a while. Most blogs consist of image and text, but this one’s really really good at image and text. Particularly the jpgs.

Also, Anour Brahem was born on October 20th 1957. Happy birthday yesterday fifty two years ago Brahem! It’s crazy it took that long before his music graced my headphones. I recommend hitting up this dope post on the greatest conversation to hear and read for yourself.

I made hainanese chicken rice today for the first time. the end result was average due to my not so very good skills but the experience was amazing (nothing tastes like food from home). My hands still smell of garlic and ginger. Mmmmmm.

School is going interestingly. Taking a film studies 100 class which has been blowing my mind a bit. In an art history / archeology of China class, our prof told us about an emperor who had a pool built where the reflection (or illusion) of the moon could be seen during the day. I think it’s supposed to be in or near a cave and there are seven holes around the pool and if any of them were blocked, the reflection would not work.

It’s a mystery to everyone how the reflection works. Apparently when the Japanese occupied the area they built an exact replica of the set-up but were still unable to replicate the illusion. Our prof explained that it was created with an entirely different philosophy and technology to ours, which is why it baffles us so much. I find this incredible fascinating, but cannot find any more information on this reflection pool. It’s supposed to be located at Bishu Shanzhuang in Chengde. If you do know anything more about this and would like to share the knowledge, I’ll hug you for an email!

Travel-wise, I’m a bit shocked at how many air miles I’ve put in. For work I’ve visited toronto six times this year, montreal four times, and a host of other Canadian cities a bunch (I should be in the ‘air canada top tier’ section soon. It means free scotch in the airport lounge, looking forward to this). Considering I hadn’t really been out of BC before this year, I feely very grateful to have seen this much of canada (even halifax!) and learnt more about this incredible country. Overall, photographing the flying lotus tour is still one of my favourite gigs ever. thank you kenny mac for that.

Am shooting a job in toronto next month, and will be flying from there to new york for a job later that week. Never been to new york, really excited for it.

On the internet front, I’m not entirely sure what to do with We Mine Deeper anymore. I’ve got quite a few blogs going right now and as has been said, ‘dude you’re spreading your blogging thin.’ WMD has always been a nice place for me to spew out whatever I wanted though. Imagine if I posted all the random nsfw stuff on my ‘proper’ photo blog…. Or maybe I should.

Whatever it is, a new david lang photo is in the works by andy chung who just started a new blog. I might be keeping with my usual URestlessL behaviour on this revamp. Other stuff in photography… Am procrastinating on a print requested by Day 19 which is dumb of me because they are incredible photographers and this is an honour. Speaking of day 19, harrison boyce went to visit them recently and came back with this fantastic photo.

Bloggingly, there is an interview that needs to be transcribed for some blogging news happening soon. On the work front, I sort of agreed to take a job that happens over my birthday, as I had a momentary lapse of memory on which day I was born on. For whatever reason, I’ve always wanted this to happen.

Really liked Where the Wild Things Are. It’s fucking good, but I must admit it’s a film that is sometimes more groundbreaking than it is pure fun to watch. There is a lot of love and certainly a lot of hate for this movie. I want to watch it in cinemas again, and this time round with a note pad to jot some writing down and maybe try to defend these waves of hatred. A salute to spike jonze for sticking to his path and somehow managing to put this film on our screens.

“He has developed an extraordinary sense of meaningful whimsy as in such music videos as [etc. etc.] where psychological tension is conveyed through original, iconoclastic scenography. Jonze’s sensibility is an authentic development of the music-video era’s generational split—which is also an aesthetic split. He doesn’t exploit pop rebellion but has a counter-intuitive slant on what’s funny, sad, universal.” – armond white in a review of the film.

I think jonze is doing something incredible with wild things, but how people take influence from it remains to be seen – which is a bit scary. This direction has so much potential but will look particularly stupid if used in the wrong hands. I think we’re in for a lot of face-value meandering filmmaking and photography soon; you can imagine how interpretations of the aesthetics and narrational style can be utterly dreadful (yes I know some of you already think this is bad). Whatever it is, the new kanye X jonze video We Were Once a Fairytale Where the Kanye’s Are -a.c. is dope, and you know it.

To finish – am actually falling for that Glee tv show, I have no reservations about playing with a sony psp on the bus and the vancouver locals can continue to look at me strange all they want, chicken rice is the best, and yup.

So today I learnt how to turn a video clip into a GIFs from Tom Chung, brother of Andy Chung and founder of Original Gifs tumblr which has been gaining a certain amount of infamy on the net recently.

As you can see, my first attempt was not so brilliant. It’s a pretty big file, has one thousand invisible frames and a few subliminal glitches. Hopefully my next few attempts will be less sketchy. Right now it’s sketchier than four people fucking on motorbikes while riding around the forest.

#gifgang

This is the last story in Fear(s) of the Dark (Peur(s) de Noir) – a French animation horror compilation released in 2007. Richard McGuire directed this particular piece and it is stunning. I am also fond of the rest of the movie too, definitely enjoyed watching.

[1/2]

[2/2]

(via vinagoh)

So the first episode of the new season of Office opens with a ‘parkour sequence.’

Yes. So indescribably happy right now.

via Carl W. Heindl

So I stole this from Brian Park’s awesome new blog The Greatest Conversation which is probably titled after the conversations he has with himself, which seem to be really damn good. He is like my super smart academic friend with refined taste who can’t handle stupid average people in the city so he moved to an island just off the city so he can study and think (and blog) in less diluted peace.

Anyway this track is off Flying Lotus’ most recent EP, which is a nice cue for me to say I am really fucking excited for FlyLo’s new album.

Also, ‘Auntie’s Lock’ is such a nice title. And I should really go find some breakfast. ta.

Bic pens are good for everything… Writing… Chewing… Breaking open old kryptonite bike locks… and…

(via flylo)

this section is still mindblowing

Had me giggling goose all the way through.

So this dude is from Vancouver too eh? ooo

[via marc zhuang]