What a way to go! Cresencio scores the front page of the paper on the way out!
We’re gonna miss that boy! He also managed to score Taiwan Photo of the Day, from the shoot we did with Steven Vigar. (The photos from that will be up soon, so stay tuned!)
He shined golden everywhere he went. Here’s a candid from his Last Chance for Romance Dance at The Loft:
Love Love Love Love!!!
In his final hours, here with Steve-O and Rodrigo in the basement of Roxy Jr.:
See you in NYC!!!!!
Amanda is gonna hella miss this place. Some reasons why you might not know Taiwan is awesome.
-holding her breath for a block to not smell stinky tofu
-lion dog hair cuts
-old people doing exercises in the park
-beers from 711 at any hour
-never getting carded
-big huge beautiful apt for no money – cheap rent
-Taiwanese babies
-People who don’t travel for crazy times, but travel becuase they are crazy, cuz they all live in Taiwan
Taiwan peeps, not Taiwanese people
-people farting on the mrt and it doesn’t bother ppl
-cover their nose to pick it in public
-miss wearing a tank top next to ppl wearing a parka
-bbqs with the girls
-squat toliets cuz it’s so much cleaner
-shoe prints on toliet seats
-vomiting into cups and having the bar staff laugh and offer limes to clean out your mouth and cheering you on
-tea eggs
-seaseme noodles
-playing pictionary and charades (it’s called communicating) everywhere you go
-walk out the door and every day is an adventure
-getting lost
-milk tea zhen zhu nai cha
-cheap teppanyaki in the night market
-night markets!
miscellanous tuesday afternoon fireworks that scares the shit out of you
-free food on the side of the road that is actually for the world
-random whafts of incense mixed with sewage
-random parades with deities coming door to door for change
-flagging cheap cabs that are available without phone call within 5 min. anywhere in taipei
-old men plauing chinese chess in the park and getting really animated about it and crowding around the table
-7 year old with giant marajuana leaves on it. super inappropriate clothing for elementary students. (and high school – fuzzy pooh bear on a 14 year old)
-all the different culture stir-fry that exsists here
-10 degrees (Celcius) being cold!
-scooter aventures and helmet hair
-711 stickers as currency
-Hello Kitty, cuz it’s funny
-Taiwanese boyfriends carrying their girlfriend’s purses
–Hello Kitty cuz it’s funny
-Taiwanese couples dressing in matching shirts, or matching ladybug helmets, same same but opposite in handcuffs
I am gonna miss Amanda SOOOOOO much!
Season Finale of Season One with Amanda! Stayed tuned for Season Two in the fall with an all new location!
Best of luck in Cambodia, Thailand and Borneo!
I have really rad friends. (As you know!) But this one, Matthew May, is one of my closest, oldest friends, he’s real special. He’s been doing my hair since I was 15. And everyone else’s in the neighborhood. Matt May is your hair savior! (no lie)
He just got a new website! www.mattmat.ca
Here he is!! Doing what he does best:
Currently, he’s in Vancouver. So– if you are lucky enough to be there, you should totally send him an email or join his Facebook group (search healthy hair by Matthew May). My favorite thing about getting my hair done by him is that he always educates me on my hair. Matt teaches his clients how to take care of your hair to make it grow faster, be healthier, look better, and how to style it different ways and even what products and techniques would work best on your hair. He is full service!
After a cut or color, you always leave glowingly happy and stoked about your new life you will have with your new hair. He’s also really good about cutting it so that when it grows out, it still looks good, and you don’t need to go back for a new cut right away. This is especially good if you’re from outta town (like me) and need it to look good as long as possible.
Matt May is truely inspirational and talented at hair. He’s been doing it forever! He’s really good at inventing new styles that work for you. (He’s really, really good at dye jobs! Extensive training paid off!)
Here’s a cut and dye job he did for me ages ago:
Go look him up. He has experience in fashion shows (he’s the head stylist for Eco Fashion Week Vancouver 2010!), weddings, photo shoots, editorial, and various salons, not to mention all the work he does from his (or your) home.
He can do avant guarde if you want him too! Here’s a shot of Tash:
MATT MAY IS AMAZING!!! I love him so much! Visit his website to check out the rest! www.mattmay.ca
So, I don’t know if you’ve noticed in my party pics this girl I’m always making drunk faces and plural LMAO with, Amanda. She’s in my fb profile photo now. We tight.
Well, time is almost up to book your summer vacation with her. Do you know why you would you wanna hang out? (Come on, did you see her face? She is totally funny.) Keep reading. She does this awesome thing see, where like, she distributes gummy bears (and Skittles) all over the world while wearing a pirate hat. (The scallywag!) It’s basically Amazing. And usually that phrase is reserved for only Amy V.W.
Hehehe…. But another reason for being one of the raddest people I know, she’s responsible. She’s got a fucking cool job! She runs the South-East Asia Chapter of Operation Groundswell, a non-profit organization that’s geared towards exposing the world from different perspectives. And not breaking the bank to do it.
She runs cool trips, in South-East Asia – no, no, not through the Golden triangle, that was last year. It’s all in the name of bridging the gap, for Amanda anyway.
Amanda, alongside Jonah, plan to take a crew of of rad people around Thailand, Cambodia and Borneo on two trips this summer – one Humanitarian, one Environmental, each lasting about a month and a half! So……
Do you wanna save the children? Or save the trees?
Operation Groundswell needs you to backpack with a purpose. Deadline is on Jan.17th!!
What’s it like? What does it entail? What’s it all you about?
You’re scanning and scroll this site so fast you leap to what…
Amanda Hug and Kiss states:
“I am talking diving, hiking, climbing, snorkeling, rain forests, food, culture, orphanages, building houses, hill tribes – ADVENTURE in real time! Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Central America… wherever you may have wanted to find yourself lost these trips provide you with the opportunity to experience these regions without the badge of tourist on your forehead.
2010 a new decade!! Time for new adventures. It’s not about changing the world, it’s about being actively part of it.
LAST CHANCE!!! Truth. Diving, climbing, wandering, dreaming, living, REAL life….”
Go here to see the South-East Asia Trip Fees & more info.
Mural they did in Cambodia:
For example, peeps, I got the DL on what going on your trip would KINDA be like, but maybe not Exactly:
Pay the program fee, which covers your transportation, food, accommodations… (i.e. Not your airfare) It’s not the posh resort kinda deal, you actually live with locals and follow the same customs as them. Not your typical tourists areas – The TRUTH. Remember, it’s non-profit. It’s not gonna be hella expensive.
>>>You would fly into Bangkok aka Smoggy City Central, and maybe go up to the Hill Tribes by Chaing Rai – have a dog BBQ and drink rice whiskey while building houses with all the locals. It’d be cool. Then the next moment, you mosey your way outta the jungle on elephants and make your way to Cambodia – but not on the poor elephant the whole time. K – then you Indiana Jones it to Angkor Wat to experience that wonder of the world. Glorious. Third leg of the peg (trip) to Phnom Penh for the real deal triple threat. First, you visit a local breakdancing beatboxing Youth Drop In Center, Tiny Toons, where you chill with the raddest of 8 year olds, dancing and learning, engaging in change with a positive attitude.
Second, there’s a massive garbage dump that children live at/on/in and is teeming with child labor (Whoa!). Gain perspective. Shock and blow your mind. Third threat of the triple -A day trip to The Killing Fields – genocide. The next day to the museum-like S21 Prison, which was known for torture. Sadness. Then visit a community-run Orphange by Khmer Rouge survivors, who teach traditions of the past to cultivate a new future for these children.
Rawness.
That’s just a taste. Watch the vid here.
Go apply and read more at www.operationgroundswell.com
Remember the Due Date is Jan 17th. Get cracking. Become a better person today.
Nah, but just go cuz you wanna hang out with Amanda. I wish I could go. I am gonna uber miss her when she is doing this, so I want someone to live vicariously through. Do it Do it Do it! It’s gonna be fun. Hella cool.
So Christmas was fucking fantastic. Like I said in my Christmas Eve post, friends are the most important people to have around you when you live in a foreign country away from your family. Many friends I know get down around this season, especially cuz most of us work, and are away from home and the ‘spirit’ of Christmas.
Well, Christmas this year at Shane’s changed all that.Great company. Great festive environment. Great food. I mean, the best meal I’ve ever EVER had in my life on Christmas Day. It was all thanks to the hot hot heart of Shane Murphrey, who took a day off work and spent a pile of money to cook a giant feast for 40 people, with the help of Stef and his favorite girl from home in New Orleans, Erika.
Holy moly. They sure know how to eat in New Orleans. Shane prepared a meal “fit for kings and queens,” said Jeff Rad. Shane is one of the Raddest People I Know.
Love this man!! Thank you thank you thank you SO MUCH for including me. I’m so glad I took him home with me when I found him in ALV so many summers ago!
Now to introduce the feast (if I got anything wrong, or you know how to describe it better, please comment so I can change it.)
Braised Pork:
Cajun Dirty Rice (don’t ask what makes it dirty!) and the Marshmellow Sweet Potatoes (one of my favs!)
Two outstanding dishes: Creamed Spinach (with enough Cheddar cheese to feed a cow, says Erika) and the STAR dish of the night, Pumpkin & Goat Cheese Ravioli in a Green Curry Sauce.
If you like spicy food (or can handle the burning of your mouth) this would’ve been your fav, the Moule (um, chicken breasts in this amazing black sauce – but i dunno how to describe except sensational and spicy)
The 20 Pound turkey (thanks for bringing it Ben! and to everyone who chipped in on it!) That’s the Gumbo poking out on the right in the pot. You know there’s Southerners in the house when…
The second batch of the Marshmellow Sweet Potato holy fucking yummy goodness. Thanks for making 2!
The homemade cranberry jelly on the right, and the Broccoli and Cheddar Quiche on the right. (So fucking yummy too. Vegetarian heaven!)
These two were a little hard to decipher, even when eating. The one of the left is stuffing of some sort (so good!) and the one on the right is Cornbread stuffing (or something like that). Totally amazing and complementary to everything else.
One last shot of the turkey, the Black Pepper Pork (what a hunk of meat that was to cook!) the pot of Moule, and hiding in the back right the best Mac and Cheese I have had in forever – with fresh grated Velveeta Cheese and super thick Macaroni noodles.
Everyone, everyone, ate til they were full and were SO SO SO happy. Shane not only warmed our stomachs with his Christmas meal, but our hearts as well. Not a unhappy face among us! Everyone was into the wine and the laughter and the company. A happy time had by all!
Candids in the night:
I decided to take just a few pics and then put my camera away and enjoy the party. Some things are priceless and worth living with my memory only, instead of all the flash flash bang bang of cameras. This experience was definitely priceless, and we all have Shane to thank for bringing us together.
We also celebrated Austin’s birthday, and he marked the special occasion with a song he wrote and composed. For a beautiful moment, everyone stood around the Christmas tree and listened. Happy Birthday Austin. Wanted to take a pic but deemed it inappropriate to disrupt the intimate scene.
Ended the night at the Saki bar with Billy, Lisa, Stef, Gavin and James. What a great night!
Much love to Shane, Stef, Jeffrey, Erika, Ben and all those I shared the night with! Great to see everyone in such high spirits! x
Everyone knows a fashion designers 3 best friends are a photographer, a make-up artist and a hair stylist. I just realized how many amazing friends I have that are photographers. And not just in a “I like to take photos for fun” kinda way. In a professional, WOW you are so into this and have mad talent kinda way. If you haven’t noticed, I suck at taking pictures, and I admire these women for being able to do what I can’t even come close to!
This group of women I’m about to introduce I personally have the pleasure of knowing, and I think they are all extremely talented behind the lens. Please visit their links to check out their work. These people all mean a lot to me! (Featured in no particular order, you can also find the links to all their sites in the sidebar>>>)
Amy VIctoria Wakefield
She is one of my oldest and dearest friends, and has been doing photography since we met in high school. Amy was my Grade 10 lab partner in Advanced Biology, and we’ve stayed close ever since. This girl has done so much for me, she has such a generous heart! Amy has a double major in Photography and Design from Alberta’s College of Art and Design, and already has a slew of experience under her belt. She recently got a pic on the cover of Antler Magazine, does a Market Collective, and constantly has exhibitions going on. Check out her steez!
Tina Gionis
Tina is a woman of amazing strength. I’ve seen this woman go through extreme trials and tribulations, and she has shown she can survive it all! She is one of the only people I know that makes you learn something about yourself every time you talk to her. Tina has an inquisitive mind and asks such perceptive questions. She’s a joy to spend an afternoon with. Tina has dived in head first in her photography, and has a strong religious element in her work(Matsu!). This woman was made to live on a beach.
Gretchen Robinette
Gretchen is my boyfriend’s sister, but that is not the reason she makes this list. She can take really interesting photos! A lot of her work involves shooting bands, artists, music makers and famous singers. When she visited Taiwan, I had the opportunity to do a Rice Society photo shoot with her, and I love the work she did, so professional! I recently got to hang out with her during the summer in her homeland of San Fransisco and had a blast! Everything for her comes in 23s. I hope she comes back to visit.
Olivia Wycech
I am happy to call this hot little number one of my friends! She has an incredible sense of humor and her photography is a step above a lot of said “amateur” photographers. She has invested herself in Taiwanese society and does quite a unique job of relaying the bizarre things that happen in Taiwan as an expat, which I can totally relate to(and am constantly amazed by!). Her writing almost trumps her photography, but the pictures speak for themselves. Olivia takes oodles of pics, but is suuuper selective about the ones she posts, so you know they’re the best ones!
Carrie Kellenberger (Carrie Marshall)
Carrie is such a treat to know! She is definitely a woman of many talents, photography being one of her strongest suits. She takes interesting travel photos, not just your usual scenery, but her pictures often open your eyes to what is often overlooked. She runs the Taiwan Photographers website, as well as two of her own, and has a generous amount of knowledge to share with the world. I enjoy reading what she writes about,it’s always something I never knew before! Carrie is always open for collaborations and someone you should wanna work with!
I want to work with all these amazing women. They are strong, fierce and powerful! Go contact them if you want to share your images with the world.
My Nan, aka my grandma, is from Newfoundland. That’s where she has always lived, and she’ll live there til the day she dies. I had the opportunity to visit her last summer, I hadn’t seen her in over 15 years! Newfoundland is kinda outta the way, being the eastern most island in Canada, so that’s why I didn’t see her for so long.
Pictured here at “Grandfather’s Rock”, just outside her childhood home in Bonavista, Newfoundland. It was super cool to see where she grew up, beside the Atlantic Ocean. It was freezing cold. (Even in July, when I visited, only 10 degrees!Brrrrrr…)
My nan made me a heritage quilt. She said it has Newfoundland’s history, and since I don’t live there anymore (I spent part of Grade 4 & 5 there), I should remember where I came from. I think it’s so cute, she drew all pictures with marker and crayon, then ironed over it and sewed it on Newfoundland Tartan (the green plaid). I guess DIY runs in the family.
It’s 4 x 5 squares, queen size. I’m gonna go through each quare and tell you what they mean.
First up is the map of Newfoundland, with a pink sailing boat (for John Cabot who discovered Newfoundland and gave it it’s name, and a whale by Bonavista (I saw 4 while I was there!)
In the old days, the only way to travel was by the Newfoundland Bullet train:
I guess they had to make their own fire for tea:
An old school motorboat:
Here are some fishermen on a dock, getting ready to go out to sea. The fishing industry is the livelihood of Newfoundland, there’s so many bays and inlets, it’s hard not to live by the ocean. This is actually what it still looks like, men smoking and preparing the nets.
I this is what the stove looked like during my Nan’s childhood, woodburning:
This drawing is of the coast, with a little poem for the fishmen out at sea that reads “As loved our fathers, so we loved/Where once they stood we stand/Their prayer we raise to heaven above/God guard thee Newfoundland”
My Nan says this is to remember my Great-Grandfather, who was a soldier in WWII. The caption reads “In the first World War, Newfoundland maintained it’s own infantry regiment, which was started in the early fall of 1914.” On the statue it says “The Fighting Newfundlander”
The old school house my grandma attended as a girl, complete with wooden floors and a wood burning stove. (She actually took me to this place, close to the first picture of my Nan, still standing)
Newfoundland’s provincial flower, the pitcher plant:
The place is full of lakes and streams too, you can catch a ton of fish! (And I think they did, that’s why they banned cod fishing)
Cleaning and gutting fish, she calls it Splitting. The old men still dress like this, wool sweaters, wool hats, rubber boots and beards. Not everyone, but a good handful:
Nan had a hard time explaining this one. It’s titled, “The Time” which kinda means the fun time you have when you’re hanging out and listening to music and enjoying yourself, kinda like the time of your life. These men are rocking out on the fiddle and the accordian.
Purity was a brand of pantry items, but now they don’t make anything anymore. Pretty sure it was only available in Newfoundland. My nan was quite found of their biscuits and you know how it is when they stop making something you love, you miss it! (Like that blueberry juice that used to be available at Family Mart!)
Some other grandma’s spinning and knitting. Did you notice the grey cat in a few of these pictures? And the kid all wrapped up in cloth?
There’s this special kinda whiskey in Newfoundland, called Screech. It tastes kind like Sangsom (Thailand), or like Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum, it’s whiskey with some kinda herb in it. Fucks you up so much that people were known to start making out with fish. (jk) This pic is called “Screeching In” – when you drink it for the first time they make you kiss a cod fish as initiation. My Dad loves this shit, but you can only find it in Newfoundland. They don’t sell it at the airport.
Here’s where they kept all the vegetables and jams and food storage to keep for winter. I guess they didn’t have freezers?
They didn’t have plumbing for a long time either, so if you wanted to go to the bathroom, you had to go outside to The Outhouse. If you’ve never seen one, it’s a little shack with a toilet seat over a giant hole. It’s kind of a good thing it never gets really hot. The words at the top, Recyclables: The Eaton Cataloge and The Family Herald – that’s what they used for toilet paper!
This shows berry picking. This is really popular, since many people make and eat jam. There are a lot of kinds of berries: patridgeberries, strawberries, blueberries, and they also use apple and rhubarb.
I just had to bring back some homemade jam!
The last pic is of the “Mummers”. This is kinda like Halloween, but with a twist. Anytime in the winter, groups of men would get dressed up in costumes and go door to door, like Trick or Treating, but for alcohol. They’d hang out at anybody’s place who’d take them, have a drink and then move on, so it’s also like a pub crawl. Interesting custom. My dad said he used to do this, but I don’t think anyone does it anymore.
Just so you don’t get the wrong idea, this quilt represents my Nan’s time, not present day. She’s 50 years older than me. The people I met in Newfoundland were always warm and suuuper nice, the store clerks calling you Love, and it had a real small town “down home” friendly atmosphere. It’s a trip to go there cuz of how they talk, and the environment and their whole style. I recommend going there someday if you can. A lot of it hasn’t changed and has een preserved cuz it’s on an island, and most people don’t go there just to travel.
She also made these rad hooked rugs, shown as a wall hanging. She made they out of Burlap potato sacks, and old t-shirts. I got her to teach me how to do it while I was there:
And this one:
I’ll leave you with a shot of my nan and me, we sure look alike!
Marcus
DO THE RIGHT THING
www.waakao.com
ROCK IN HOSE BURLESQUE TROUPE
FAREWELL ALITA D’BONE @APA 808 LOUNGE
“We’re Rock In Hose, We Rock In Hose, The HO must go on!”
I took some very amateur photos of the night. Please excuse my photography skills and the lighting, I would just like to share their performance with you.
This show was a farewell to Alita, as she’ll leave for her next adventure on Monday. However, in Taiwan we’ve been know to play by the rule: “You can always sign out, but you can never leave!” Alita has fled and returned more than anyone I know here. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing her for a solid 6 years, 2 years of which she was my roommie with Lil Lisa. It was an intimate gathering @APA in Ximen to perform for all their friends, free of charge, as a thank you for all of the support they’ve received – and what a wicked good time it was!
They started with PONY:
Perfect timing, ladies!
Wheel of Torture!! You spin and then you get to do something naughty or win a prize. The lovely Kitty N’Heat was held the marker to see what you landed on:
I got to play first, lucky me! I got a prize, which consisted of a Rock In Hose sticker, Durex condom, and lipstick in Russian RED.
Maxime was up next to spin:
BODY SHOT from Alita, wa-hoo!
Next up Austin! He got TIT FOR TAT, which meant – Slap Marika with the Hand Slapper, and then she hits back!
We all heard that SLAP!
I wish she got him back better, but he was wearing jeans. (I heard she did catch a ball though!)
Em got to spin next but she just had to play a word game (Buzz Words). Name the pop references containing the word “PUSSY”. Audience participation was a great help, for example: James Bond Movie? Octopussy!
Then, for some reason, it was time for men to come up and take off their shirts. I can’t remember why Alita declared this, but I think it was because there needed to be a better ratio of men to women in their undies.
Here’s Max, lookin fierce with no shirt, and Cresencio hosting. What fun!
Another pic for all you thirsting for more Max:
Then it was time to worship Alita. Thanks Tinus, I love your stage presence! So much intensity!
Easy on the teeth!
and then they started taking off some corsets. a-maz-ing. There’s so much going on in this picture:
That turned into POGO, aka “Put Out or Get OUT!” Original song by Alita:
I found a link from Youtube from their Rock n’Roll Circus show. Watch the amazingness of that song. The lyrics are great, here’s a little sample:
” This myth needs to be exploded/highly eroded, corroded by evidence/genetically makes sense: Women have a higher sex drive/Women have a higher sex drive/ All these married old types/these stereotypes/these buried old types/ make me want to go back to the dykes/ at least they know how to give face right”
Next up was Flavor of the Week:
Just so know who everyone is:
Breaktime! I caught Alita in the bathroom getting ready for my favorite gig, RABBIT!
Fun Times!
Last I caught the first half of Anja’s set, but missed the good part cuz I ran out of battery. Here’s the first part of Washing Maching:
Sad to run out of battery 
It was a wicked good time and this was not the last you’ve seen of Rock In Hose. They’re looking for a videographer to do a documentary on them and make a really cool video. If you’re interested, in doing the documentary, or for future bookings, please contact them at rockinhose@gmail.com or check them out on their Facebook fan page.
I’ll post when I hear of their next upcoming show! The HO must go on!
