A quick round up

1. I woke up today with a full blown cold. Ugh.

2. I'm at "Word on the Street" today. I'll be hanging out at the Ricepaper booth, and then I've got to network, see a few authors etc.

2. I've been really fricking busy, but it's all good stuff.

3. I volunteered at an aerial dance show this week. I wasn't sure if I would like the show, but I really did. It consisted of people floating around in harnesses, climbing walls and hanging from the ceiling. I've realized that I have an incredible tolerance for slow pieces/films, because I find them rather meditative and I don't seem to get annoyed if plots/things aren't moving fast.

4. I've been cooking a lot- I made an aloo mutter yesterday (peas, potatoes and garam masala), and a coconut lentil curry soup last week.

5. I hung out with [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] and watched "Inside man" yesterday, which was pretty good, except that I dozed off at one point because I was tired. I also watched "Spring, summer, winter, fall, spring" this week, which I adored. Like I said, I have a fascination with slow meditative movies and I thought this movie was beautiful. Loved the Buddhist themes.

6. I ate at New Asian noodles this week and cannot give it a recommendation. I think there's better Asian food available in this city.

What I've been reading lately...

A lot of YA, apparently...

1.Londonstani- Gautam Malkani- This book, which launched to a great deal of buzz, is the story of a group of young South Asians living in London. It's written in an incredible style; full of weird language, slang, phonetic spellings and text messaging type writing. I loved the style and tone of the book, but found myself getting frustrated, because there didn't seem to be much of a plot. It reminded me a lot of "Trainspotting", simply because of the slang, and the interactions between the groups of friends. Fortunately [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] and I got a chance to discuss it last night, because I've been dying to talk about it with someone. I felt that the characters were fully fleshed out, and I could really see them in my head. The ending pissed me off so much when I first read that I wanted to kick the book across the room when I first read it. However, now I just think that the book is rather brilliant, and that I need to read it again. Gautam Malkani is coming to the Writers' festival this year, and I was all prepared to try to woo him, until I found out that he's married. Damn.

2. The Mystery of the Graffiti Ghoul by Marty Chan- The second book in the Marty Chan mystery series. There were some funny parts and I love the cultural interplay in this book, but I didn't think it was anything spectacular. Read for Ricepaper.

3. Nothing but the truth and a few white lies- by Justine Chen Headley- A book about a hapa girl who isn't very happy with her mixed heritage. She then goes to math camp at Stanford and learns a lot about herself. Some pretty interesting parts, and relatively amusing. I'll admit I read it to see how the depiction of the mixed character was handled. Good, but not amazing.

4. Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz- A new YA series which explores the lives of rich vampires living in New York. Very New York based, and a completely interesting concept that would make a great tv show or movie. I thought some of the writing was sloppy and could have been cleaned up. The author loves to brand drop. Do we have to hear the names of designers constantly?!? Ick.
That said, I do want to know what happens, so I'll probably read the sequel when it comes out in 2007.



I was looking at Justine Chen Headley's website and she recommended this awesome site for people like myself who are obsessed with YA.

Check out Teen Reads .

(no subject)

One of the many good things about working at The Dance Centre is that it has given me a lot of creative fodder. After interviewing the fascinating multidisciplinary artist, Peter Chin, and talking with so many dancers, I've become quite inspired to try to create a piece blending text, music and dance. In the next few years, I may begin creating some more theatrical based work, which is pretty exciting.


I have a query for you, my gentle readers. Can you recommend electronic music that sounds a bit like Ladytron? Bonus points if it doesn't have words.

(no subject)

Had to come home early from WOTS, because the sick was overpowering me.