don’t know that i’ve considered, ever, crawling bakck inside my childhood. when i was growing up, i recall thinking how i behaved like i was 30. i used to practice sitting very still and quietly when waiting in a doctor’s office or at my dad’s work.
7 or 8 years ago, i felt a new childhood coming on as i entered university. i indulged in a lot of play and even silliness that i’d deemed “out-of-bounds” during my adult-adulating formative years. i recall considering the transformation almost a role-reversal — spent childhood years behaving like an adult, caring for family where parent(s) didn’t seem capable in a “normal” way at times. then, once on my own, i played at childlike behaviour.
a few years ago, i watched amelie and another childhood bloomed. i saw the world in a way i hadn’t before and marveled at it.
now, after a couple years of surface living, i’m opening that grand velvet drape where another child awaits.
xox
ryanon September 20, 2005 at 8:03 am
I’ve always thought it interesting to contrast “carnival” to the ideas of “consensus building” that we get in a more radical participatory democracy, and “catallaxy” which is the mode of democratic thinking that openly mimics economic thinking, especially the thinking around the market. Don’t know if that helps. I wrote a paper on it with regards to pedagogy if you’d like to read it.
Frances Krukon September 21, 2005 at 12:46 am
if i hold my machine on my lap it warms my thighs. if my hands are cold, i just touch them to its underside. it’s like a hug without arms. good little machine.
a.rawon September 26, 2005 at 6:55 pm
this is FANTASTIC. thank you!
i read ‘armour’ as ‘amour’ and loved both incarnations.
Frances Krukon September 30, 2005 at 3:43 am
congrats! this is awsome! best of luck in the future…
over here people are really into their gadgets. they’re clunky compared to what’s to be found in asia, but they’re certainly much more ominpresent and heavily-used than in canada. only small domestic animals and alien lifeforms like myself are sans mobile phone. texting is HUGE and used extensively…not just for chatting between friends and associates, but also for business, civic stuff, information, contests. everywhere you go, even the smallest little shithole has a www address and a texting number, and then a regular phone number below that. everyone has an ipod or ipod ripoff. retirement-aged business people with the little white earphones and the tiny box in their breast pocket. back home it’s just the young tech-savvy havemoney that have started to use them.
you’d mentioned things beings slower and sort of behind here, technologically speaking, but i’m finding it’s mostly ahead. furthermore, my problematic orbitastudios email account works just fine here – it was often very slow and unreliable in calgary. which is a clear sign that telus high speed internet was the problem. everything is zippy over here. i have yet to do any printing or scanning or whatnot, so i don’t know what the equipment will be like, but there seems to be a good chance that it will be above my expectations.
as far as having a mobile… i like being anonymous and somewhat unreachable, and yet i’m tempted to join the circus. it’s not just convenience – it’s pretty much become necessary. standard. and it’s really surprisingly cheap.
but what i really want is one of those mini teenie tiny phones, like derek zoolander.
Larissa Laion September 30, 2005 at 8:21 am
may be that’s the difference between london (where you are) and norwich (where i was). my forearm did not like having its wires pulled out. but yeah, i loved the text thing when i was there. and it’s true, there was a whole culture around it. i’d often text my favorite people several times a day. it’s great because texting doesn’t really stop you from doing what you’re doing, but you stay hooked in to your important relationships. it’s pretty funny though, hearing everyone on the bus, in restaurants, and on the street constantly beeping. i think you want one. give into your feelings, kruk, you know it to be true…
dfbon October 3, 2005 at 11:35 am
i’ve try to watch 2046 a couple of times now and it’s still no go –
but he really has a good eye – my personal favorite is still Happy Together and I of coarse chungking express is a sentimental 2nd
love dfb
sandyon October 5, 2005 at 8:21 am
Hahaha!!!
napalm bombon October 12, 2005 at 9:00 pm
a feast of food and friends with which to share. mawkish sentiment from the wet coast where we capture invertebrates and try to teach theory to the cat….
love and miss you, and oh, here’s jeff buckley coming thru on my I-Tunes…..time to capture a few tragic, honey-voiced boys to carry around in a back pocket, no?
Jillon October 25, 2005 at 10:52 am
Wow, Larissa! I can’t believe you delivered your paper, let alone delivered it so well! I had no clue you were in pain and I really enjoyed your thoughts on Chorus of Mushrooms. It’s been a long time since I read it, and I think I will pick it up again.
The vibe for the whole weekend was a little off. Like some bad mojo floating around. Maybe the panel was cursed. “Disturbing Alberta.” Hmm.
Andreaon October 31, 2005 at 10:00 pm
I know those dudes.
a.rawon November 3, 2005 at 7:26 pm
larissa, are you feeling better????? conor and i feel your pain all the way in tdot.
sending you healing and mechanical wings!!
Larissa Laion November 4, 2005 at 12:27 pm
hey thanks! i am feeling much better. wish i could get out of this *&^*)#$ cast and start physio already. wish i could walk… but my pain is way down, thank goodness.
thanks for the well wishes. hope things are good with you. looking forward to seeing the anthology!
a.rawon November 4, 2005 at 3:12 pm
residency at SFU? details please!!! does this mean your move to van is official?
also, any chance you’ll be in van for the S&S launch? i’m sure that’s too much to ask. it looks like i’ll be flying out for the glorious event. first time in vancouver! would, of course, be TREMENDOUS to cross paths w/ you there!
Larissa Laion November 4, 2005 at 4:01 pm
i guess i should be tooting my horn more loudly on that one. yes, i’ll be writer-in-residence through the english department at sfu in vancouver from january-june 2006. very excited about this, as there are lots of writers and thinkers in vancouver right now who seem to come from the same planet as me.
unfortunately, won’t be in van for S&S– travelling in taiwan and japan and not back until nov. 27. so i will just miss you. big drag. but i will be thinking about you and sending the hippiest love-vibes possible across the pacific to the great land of lotuses. er… loti?
jason christieon November 5, 2005 at 9:53 am
o i so want to get into the phd prog at sfu already. esp. b/c you might still be around there larissa. hope your foot is off your mind a bit today. tho if it was i’ve gone and ruined it… dang. talk to you soon.
Larissa Laion November 5, 2005 at 10:05 am
i cross my fingers for you jc. i predict that in the next few years calgary is going to take vancouver by storm.
and then we take berlin…
a.rawon November 6, 2005 at 10:08 am
very exciting, larissa! huge congrats on the residency!! goooooo christie!
Frances Krukon November 7, 2005 at 3:10 pm
poor knuckles and heels in calgary. such tragedy.
Larissa Laion November 7, 2005 at 6:23 pm
without our good luck kruk we are meek lambs lost in a field of sharp objects, and highly prone to injury.
Frances Krukon November 11, 2005 at 1:06 am
GOOD LUCK LALAI!!!!!!!!
Leg Casts in Movieson November 11, 2005 at 4:31 pm
Good luck on your recovery!
asthma_boyon November 11, 2005 at 7:15 pm
that’s awesome about the chapbook. sorry about the incorrect credit!
jpf
Larissa Laion November 12, 2005 at 6:32 pm
thanks frances kruk!
Larissa Laion November 12, 2005 at 7:51 pm
thanks! and thanks for including me in a fabulous anthology. no worries about the credit. i quite like serendipitous errors.
ll
Naloon November 13, 2005 at 7:21 am
Have you tried using the little picture button on the Blogger “new post” page? I find it the easiest way to upload pictures.
Naloon November 13, 2005 at 7:23 am
Never mind. I see that you have. Works fine from a Mac for me.
Davidon November 13, 2005 at 8:58 am
Hi there,hows your foot?I am stuck in the same color cast as you,lol.It really stinks to shower and stuff,e-mail me and feel better,David.
a.rawon November 13, 2005 at 9:38 am
could it look like sustainable energies employed by vegetarians living in a small maui commune a la woody harrelson?
sandyon November 14, 2005 at 1:53 pm
I know there’s a way, with Flickr, to e-mail photos and have them uploaded? I’ve never tried this method — but if you’re able to e-mail images, that might be a way to upload photos!
Thanks, Sandy! No luck yet with Flickr. I think the problem is with iPhoto. Glen says export to a folder on the desktop first, and then upload from there. Report, or photos, shortly.
Miss you too. How’s it going back there?
Larissa Laion November 15, 2005 at 7:57 am
Thanks, Nalo! I got it working just as you suggest. The sneaky trick is exporting the photos out of iPhoto first. Taiwan is one kind of culture shock. Mac world is another…
sandyon November 15, 2005 at 5:12 pm
Good! I am at work now and leaving to go home for supper. Cara Hedley is back in town and we all had drinks with her last night at Molly Malone’s. I’d like to see the 228 museum someday… I don’t want any betel nut.
jason christieon November 16, 2005 at 5:06 pm
Larissa! I’m really enjoying your updates. Thank you for keeping us informed of your travels and insights. We miss you!! Be safe.
Larissa Laion November 17, 2005 at 1:23 am
Thanks Jason Christie! I’ve been following your travels on your blog too. It’s nice to have a sense of being there, even when you’re not. Miss you too. Greetings to all the kids.
rob mclennanon November 17, 2005 at 12:02 pm
hey; been reading yr last few posts, of yr tour with wayde, roy, fred, etc. very envious. hoping to see pieces (lit or crit) by each of you, perhaps, after you get home?
Davidon November 21, 2005 at 11:54 pm
I am interested to know more about how many betel nut girls do more than sell betel nuts. Most people say they are just selling nuts, but I think it is inevitable a certain percentage of them are going to earn a bit of extra money by doing you know what.
but being too polite and gracious doesn’t really help all that much either?
there’s a lot of politesse and beating around the bush over here. so nothing ever gets done. no progress. you can’t kill (or nurse, whichever may be the case) the beast if you don’t approach it head on and touch it.
a few weeks ago, a girl was hit and killed by a bus somewhere in london, and about a week afterwards there was outrage in the headlines that transport london and the city hadn’t put in more effort to try to call witnesses forward. the normal practice after such an incident would be to put up posters near the site to ask witnesses to come forward, in order to help with the investigation. no posters went up because the officials in question were “concerned that the wording of the poster might be inappropriate.” why? because they might have had to list the facts? (a south asian girl was hit and killed by a bus…yes, it’s ugly, but it must be stated. especially if witnesses are needed).
then again, if you’re not excessively polite (albeit very obviously fakely so) around here, people will not even give you the time of day.
Andreaon November 28, 2005 at 11:34 am
We miss you too, Larissa!
Andreaon December 1, 2005 at 8:40 pm
Welcome home, Larissa!
Larissa Laion December 2, 2005 at 10:46 pm
Thanks, Andrea!
Jonathan Ballon December 4, 2005 at 10:03 am
thanks for the kind words larissa. though it was not jordan who read, but kevin mcpherson eckhoff. anyway i’m so glad you enjoyed the call/response chapbook, i’m very pleased about how it turned out, especially since i’ve never done any previous concrete works.
Larissa Laion December 4, 2005 at 11:37 am
i just figured that out. apologies to kevin. it was a good reading.
jason christieon December 7, 2005 at 1:40 pm
Larissa! You are such a wonderful person. Thank you for reading last night and for your kind words in your blog entry. Transition belies the illusion of stasis. I’m sad to think about missing you but I’m also really excited about the prospect of getting to visit you in the new place (and potentially seeing you all the time if Andrea and I move further west for school). Strange how words like new, transition, stasis, missing, have such emphatic connotations. Take missing for example. There will definitely be a Larissa sized space left by your departure. It will be apparent by the things which edge the space, the lives you’ve touched and the kindness you’ve shown. My head is hurting from last night so much of this probably doesn’t make any sense! Sorry about that. Luck with the packing! See you soon. xoxo
blerton December 7, 2005 at 4:12 pm
Larissa, I am sorry Jason is such a wank.
Also, please please get in touch with me if you need any help moving, cleaning, other things…when you get into BC. I will always be here for you! xoxox
jason christieon December 7, 2005 at 7:36 pm
jordan, you are very rude.
Larissa Laion December 8, 2005 at 7:12 am
i like it when boys have feelings. and i’m sure jordan meant ‘wank’ in the nicest possible way.
blerton December 8, 2005 at 11:19 am
I am so sorry, I forgot the capitalize the W in wank, referring to the mountain in Europe and not the insult. For the record, Wank is a mountain in the Bavarian Alps. It is possible to spend a night at the peak of the Wank, in an inn called the Wankhaus which was built in 1911 Many English speaking tourists traveling in nearby Austria make a detour in order to go to Wank.
I have hiked Wank, and meant to say I was sorry Jason has not. I love that guy…
jason christieon December 8, 2005 at 2:18 pm
Wank is the largest peak in Wankteria, no?
jason christieon December 8, 2005 at 2:22 pm
Yay! Leg liberation from the plaster of the past. Vive votre jambe!
Larissa Laion December 8, 2005 at 3:47 pm
That’s a common misapprehension. In fact, “Wink,” “Wimp,” and “Wonk” are all higher. Hikers failing to achieve the heights of these attempt “Wank” as a sort of consolation. The view from it’s peak is, however, exhilarating.
Andreaon December 8, 2005 at 9:52 pm
Congrats to your healing mechanisms, Larissa!
Aaron Giovannoneon December 9, 2005 at 4:03 pm
have a great bipedal day! how long before you can do yoga again?
Larissa Laion December 9, 2005 at 5:05 pm
thanks for the well wishes, friends. my leg loves to breathe. i tried yoga today, which was great for my head, but the tendon is still super-tight. the official (one size fits all)word is no yoga for three months. wanna see foucault in action? try alberta health care. i am in the midst of trying to hook up with a physio who understands my planet…
Jonathan Ballon December 11, 2005 at 8:03 am
Metropolis is one of my favourite films … but it is creepy to watch in that it was well-known to be a favourite film of Hitler’s, who after viewing it tried to hire Lang to direct propaganda films (Lang left the country, though his wife took the job). I’m not sure how Hitler managed to misunderstand the film so much that he thought Lang would be sympathetic. maybe because he was crazy.
Larissa Laion December 11, 2005 at 10:43 am
In spite of it’s surface text, I think Metropolis romances fascism as much as Hitler romanced it. Watch it for the light, and the way whiteness is troped. The romance continues in Bladerunner– check the figure of Roy Batty in particular. I agree though, it is creepy to recognize one shares an aesthetic, however provisional, with a monster. But then, one only need look south to see how many of us still do. And remember, “Nazi” is short for National Socialist… How do ya like them apples?
Frances Krukon December 11, 2005 at 2:50 pm
sending xoxoxoxoxoxox
Larissa Laion December 12, 2005 at 10:49 am
ps
thanks, jordan, for your very sweet offer to help me when i get to the couve. i’ll very likely take you up on it.
sandyon December 12, 2005 at 2:14 pm
We’ll miss you too 🙁 🙁
jason christieon December 13, 2005 at 11:08 pm
sigh.
Larissa Laion December 15, 2005 at 7:26 am
aw.
Aaron Giovannoneon December 17, 2005 at 4:53 pm
good luck with your move Larissa!
I will hopefully be doing the same thing soon (to Toronto). I need some culture and I need it fast!
take care
a.rawon December 18, 2005 at 8:31 am
happy move, larissa!! how long will you live in vancouver — 6 months? january to july? is this the length of the writer-in-residency? i’m all curious for detail. i hope to visit vancouver again, while you’re there!
Frances Krukon December 18, 2005 at 9:43 am
it’s called “the littlest engine that could” and it was blue with big puffy cheeks. one of my favourites, unfortunately lost. up, up, up the mountains…
Paulon December 19, 2005 at 6:41 am
BIG SIS! Happy to find your blog! Hope thins are going well with the move.
jason christieon December 21, 2005 at 1:26 am
Glad to hear you are safe! Thx for the update.
hardyfon December 21, 2005 at 6:26 pm
just as long as you dont take pictures while you drive. bad habit of mine – which caused a problem in that same area for me a few weeks ago. i always figure a lot of pics while driving equals a stop, and i hate stopping.
a.rawon December 22, 2005 at 7:22 pm
it’s so beautiful. how long will you be in the couv? i’d like to come visit!
Manitoba Erraticon December 23, 2005 at 4:49 pm
One thing that’s good about both Vancouver and Winnipeg is the abundance of cheap, good food.
Oh Calgary, wherfore art thou chain-restaurant beholden?
Ahem…
ndsheppyon December 24, 2005 at 11:40 am
good food AND yoga — you sound happy. glad to hear you’re settling in. merry christmas from your old ‘hood!
nikki
Frances Krukon December 26, 2005 at 7:57 am
happy happy and lots of love.
derek beaulieuon January 1, 2006 at 9:18 am
happy new year larissa – miss you around the fine city, hope to see you soon! — db
Frances Krukon January 1, 2006 at 10:23 am
miss you guys merry merry
Andreaon January 1, 2006 at 11:40 am
Happy New Year! No more sad faces, please. I’m reading and loving When Fox Is a Thousand.
Miss you!
jason christieon January 2, 2006 at 5:45 pm
That is a really cute picture! Glad to hear you are settling in. All best for 06!
sandyon January 3, 2006 at 12:29 pm
Happy New Years Larissa!! Just got back in — there was no cell reception at Halcyon! Wish you were there. I’ll give you a ring later! sandy x
jason christieon January 7, 2006 at 7:25 pm
two normal shoes! hurrah!
Lesleyon January 9, 2006 at 6:31 pm
wow, on saturday night in vancouver i also went to blim, habit, and then dancing. i found the veggie shephard’s pie at habit quite tasty!
a.rawon January 10, 2006 at 10:13 pm
“what happens to bodies paid…?”
Andreaon January 17, 2006 at 9:39 pm
Sounds like Vancouver is keeping you busy, even if perhaps wet and felicidal.
nozomion January 19, 2006 at 5:43 am
Why isn’t Rita’s hair tied back? It should have been tied back. Bad kitchen hygiene Hiromi!!
Larissa Laion January 21, 2006 at 9:57 am
jeez. kitchen police. 😉
Paulon January 21, 2006 at 5:41 pm
You’re like Jimmy Stewart in Hitchcock’s Rear Window.
Larissa Laion January 21, 2006 at 6:07 pm
i think there’s a body under all that gravel.
a.rawon January 21, 2006 at 10:43 pm
in swedish, racoon is tvat bjoorn. translates as ‘washing bear’. any help?
Larissa Laion January 22, 2006 at 11:13 am
hm. may the raccoon was a sign that it was going to rain, and we would all get washed.
sandyon January 22, 2006 at 2:20 pm
And did the Chinese woman who kindly surrendered her seat to him hear this? I guess that makes her a ‘nice chink’. God, that makes me so angry. I would have beat him with a crutch, Larissa, if you still had them.
Jillon January 24, 2006 at 1:29 pm
“…Was it him, me, or the city…” Well, it wasn’t you. And I’ve noticed that racism directed towards Asian/Asian-Heritage folks is much more vocal in Vancouver than in some cities– so does that mean the guy is not to blame? Hardly. But he’s got the implicit support of the culture at large to say racist and rude things. So it’s the city? No– cuz of course Vancouver is also home to a culture of political awareness and action. Bleargh.
A simple “Fuck you” is probably called for in that situation. Or crutch-beating if possible.
Jillon January 24, 2006 at 1:35 pm
Or, you could say “You’ve just committed a hate crime, and unless you get off the bus immediately, I’m making a citizen’s arrest.”
Andreaon January 25, 2006 at 10:33 am
Ugh. How ugly and awful. I agree with what Jill and Sandy said.
This reminds me of a friend of mine who had major surgery on her stomach. For a few months afterward she couldn’t go up and down stairs, and she was often really self conscious about taking the elevator one floor in the Social Sciences tower. To look at her, you wouldn’t know that she was unable to take the stairs. People make such nasty assumptions about others.
am i allowed to come talk to you about writing if, um, i already know you? hypothetically speaking ,of course.
jason christieon February 1, 2006 at 4:05 pm
“the civilian force will buy the technology of their enslavement” is sort of like us paying for our education!
Larissa Laion February 1, 2006 at 5:35 pm
aw… thanks for the support. and yes, napalm bomb, of course you are. hypothetically speaking.
Paul Martinon February 2, 2006 at 8:31 am
Hi Larissa,
At Northwest Passages (www.nwpassages.com) we help people like Paul all the time to get books for their courses that aren’t available in the countries in which they are teaching. It’s really amazing how many important Canadian books are not available at all in the States.
Jillon February 3, 2006 at 12:24 pm
Congratulations on the second printing!
luv J
Paulon February 4, 2006 at 1:52 pm
Have you seen Cronenberg’s eXistenZ? We’re screening that in my contemporary lit class in which we’re reading Salt Fish Girl.
Larissa Laion February 4, 2006 at 11:45 pm
I have indeed. I am a huge Cronenberg fan. And when I watched eXistenZ, I remember thinking it was in some way a remake of Videodrome. That’s cool that you’re doing SFG!
derek beaulieuon February 5, 2006 at 8:29 am
if thats the terrance houle from calgary, say hello for me – his work is really incredible, humourous and wonderfully engaging. buy him a beer for me, and let him know ive been thinking of him,,, -papa-d
chrison February 6, 2006 at 12:47 pm
Larissa, it was very good to meet you, hear your work (I can’t wait for “The New Flesh”) and find out that you’re available to students in The Writer’s Studio @ SFU.
Please pass on my sincere regrets to Garry that I didn’t show to his reading on Saturday at the Roundhouse.
Naloon February 6, 2006 at 10:07 pm
Yum.
sandyon February 16, 2006 at 4:56 pm
I remembered some people were squeamish about blood so I quickly sent them “WAIT, DON’T WATCH THAT” e-mails, but it was probably too late.
InsightActionon February 24, 2006 at 10:19 am
Interesting – ice and lilies
Sorry I never got to say bye, I guess I kind of crept out the back door of the Shala when Jeff left. Did we all jump ship at the same time?
Anyways, congratulations on the Residency. Its good to read from you.
Aaron
Frances Krukon February 27, 2006 at 5:12 am
isn’t the world beautiful though? sigh
Paulon March 1, 2006 at 5:35 pm
Does she rewrite her books often? I know I have two copies of The Rain Ascends that are slightly different….
Larissa Laion March 2, 2006 at 6:03 pm
i don’t know. i like the idea of a text that is constantly morphing. can’t wait ’til they make digital paper.
Paulon March 4, 2006 at 9:46 pm
I’m not sure what stage of development this electronic paper projectis in, but your comment made me think of it. (I somehow stumbled across this web page a few years ago — it doesn’t look like it’s been updated since then.)
SPon March 6, 2006 at 10:29 am
what happens if you don’t like mushrooms? sp
Larissa Laion March 6, 2006 at 8:53 pm
leave them out. add other good things if you want, like shredded bamboo shoots, or tinned corn, or even chopped up carrots, or frozen peas. that’s the great thing about this dish. endlessly flexible.
utenzion March 9, 2006 at 10:32 am
I like the title of your post, Larissa. It brought back memories of Snow Falling on Cedars which I liked so much. Far more than anything he’s written since.
Good luck at your reading, Larissa. I hope you do great!
Paulon April 12, 2006 at 12:18 pm
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!
ryanon April 14, 2006 at 8:33 pm
We Love You Larissa!!!!!!!! Congrats!!!!!!!!!
(ps. I need your address so I can send you these books and then you can tell me how much they suck!)
glidesmoothon April 15, 2006 at 5:53 am
can you tell me more about this phallus shrine – where is it located ? There was one at the Hilton Hotel Bangkok that I visited a long time ago.. Is this a different one ? Do you know of any other phallus shrines ?
derek beaulieuon April 17, 2006 at 6:11 pm
wow – huge congrats! — derek
285 Bungalow Driveon April 18, 2006 at 10:52 am
Bravo, Larissa, from Claire and me. Congrats to UBC for making a smart move!
Robert Majzels
Jonathan Ballon April 27, 2006 at 7:08 am
that’s awesome! congratulations!!! i was telling somebody at the u of c the other day they had better offer you a job before UBC hired you…. too late!!
Jonathan Ballon May 1, 2006 at 7:53 am
i just read your Nascent Fashion book and it’s incredible! easily the best chapbook i’ve read for a while. the poem “we entered the desert in despair” is particularly well done. overall a very chilling and kinetic book.
Larissa Laion May 2, 2006 at 1:19 pm
Thanks for all the well wishes, friends. Sorry I’ve been so absent.
Andreaon May 7, 2006 at 2:39 pm
Hey Larissa,
My friend Lesley successfully defended her thesis: Queering the Corporate Body: Identity and Postfeminisms in Larissa Lai’s ‘Salt Fish Girl’
Check out her website: bibliographic.net/les
Larissa Laion May 7, 2006 at 9:04 pm
Wow! How cool is that?!
Kateon May 16, 2006 at 10:04 pm
congratulations, no kidding. when can we read it…
Paulon May 17, 2006 at 7:36 am
A+++++!
sandyon May 17, 2006 at 3:51 pm
Congratulations, Larissa!! Time to BURN IT! just kidding.
Frances Krukon May 18, 2006 at 1:51 pm
ohhhhh looming dr lai…..xxxxx
Chrison May 19, 2006 at 2:11 am
look at you go! I sure am proud of you la lai.
Jonion May 23, 2006 at 9:44 pm
Hi Larissa,
I’m an SFU student who stumbled across your blog a few months ago. I love discovering that we have an online community as well; I was also quite tickled pink to discover the blog “trans-scribing canada”.
Along the lines of young writers–I’m working on a chapbook that I’d like to have finished by the end of the summer, and it would be absolutely fabulous if you could take a look at some of the poems that will be in it. I’m not in the lower mainland anymore, though, and I’m not sure how you feel about doing these things over email. I figure there’s no harm in asking, though!
Thanks so much.
colin martinon June 12, 2006 at 10:54 am
Hi Larissa, how’s trix? I’m doing a review of the chapbook for an upcoming issue of _filling Station_ and wondered if you had any comments or thoughts relevant to the perception of the book. Feel free to email me at colinmart@gmail.com
i wish i could go again – it’s deeply inspiring, rita
Arifon June 25, 2006 at 7:12 pm
hey, i just stumbled upon your blog…thanks for being around…you poetry is fabulaous arif
Arifon June 27, 2006 at 6:38 pm
hey, say ‘hi’ to lily. she was kind enough to read my undergrad. thesis last year.
have you seen the dialogue going on at tim yu’s blog? i think it may interest you. a couple of us (P.Lu, Chris Chen etc) are having a dialogue about ‘race’ and poetics. maybe you’re interested?
wow the glowing animals are beautiful and spooky. i want a paper animal. xo
Laurie Fuhron August 3, 2006 at 11:45 am
Hi Lari! Looking forward to your triumphant return to Calgary for the Blow-Out! (You’re coming, right??!)
Your sister should be fine. Being a doctor, she’ll probably be smart enough to take care of herself! 🙂
Alainaon August 22, 2006 at 2:42 pm
What a small world it truly is… I just so happend to stumble upon your blog and decided to take a look at what you encountered at the WUF festival. The “art” that you’ve chosen to capture in this photograph just so happend to be made by yours truly! My friend and I took out 15 min to leave our mark on the back of the bus – this is it!
Paulon September 14, 2006 at 1:28 pm
Belated happy birthday!
Larissa Laion September 15, 2006 at 11:57 am
Thanks, Paul!
sandyon September 15, 2006 at 9:29 pm
Happy birthday Larissa!! Lots of hugs and love.
xoxoxox Sandy and Chris
PS: We seriously need to get together next time we’re in the same city.
sandyon September 15, 2006 at 9:30 pm
Belated. D’oh.
a.rawon September 23, 2006 at 11:23 am
larissa, thank you for such excellent description of khang’s “mediamorphosis.” i located his project’s artist statement online, and it sounds parallel with my work on wide slumber for lepidopterists.
would you know, by chance, a way for me to reach david?
ritawongon September 27, 2006 at 1:02 pm
hiya,
i think there are times when mass email is good. for instance, i really appreciate jayce salloum’s (infrequent) emails. it is hard to deal with email volume, yes, but if we’re in the iron room together, i’d rather be awake than asleep. even if i don’t always have the energy to immediately process what comes in, there’s a chance i may in my own time and space. i’d like to suggest there’s a difference between spam (which i don’t want, from vendors i don’t know) and mass emails (which can connect us to networks we care about). i think i send fewer mass emails these days because of email fatigue, but i will still send them occasionally if i feel moved to, and i hope it’s good.
jason christieon October 2, 2006 at 11:10 am
…hey! …i …am …not …a …robot!
(…tho they are always watching me…)
ibibl
Larissa Laion October 3, 2006 at 12:43 pm
oh yeah? now you’re a PARANOID robot. how do you even know you really posted that comment? how do you know your memories are yours?
ll; sorry, jane and i will be in iceland during your visit, we’ll miss you … hopefully we’ll be able to catch up soon… — derek
drown_swallowon November 10, 2006 at 6:16 pm
november 11=day for remembering all of your loved ones who brave(d?) vancity.
285 Bungalow Driveon November 11, 2006 at 9:18 pm
Hey, Larissa, turns out Claire and I are in Calgary these days. Actually I’m in TO until Monday PM, but Claire’s home. We ain’t the old crew but we’d luv to get together.
yay! be great to see you guys. let’s meet between 9 and 9:30.
derek, we will miss you 🙁
derek beaulieuon November 15, 2006 at 7:38 pm
so – how did it go? — derek
Frances Krukon November 21, 2006 at 4:36 pm
congratulations doktorrrrrrr…..
Paulon December 1, 2006 at 11:09 am
Ooo! Sequel to SFG! Also, have you published your long poem on Blade Runner anywhere?
Larissa Laion December 1, 2006 at 11:51 am
Thanks, Frances Kruk!
Larissa Laion December 1, 2006 at 11:54 am
I’ll Ooo tOoo, if I can get the albatross off the ground! The Rachel poem exists only as a very limited run chapbook, unfortunately. (I gave you one, right?) I’d love to put the long poems together into a collection, perhaps with the addition of one or two more. Someone yell fire, may be I’ll do it.
Paulon December 1, 2006 at 2:47 pm
Alas, I did not ask you for a copy of the chapbook. Sadness.
napalm bombon December 6, 2006 at 12:03 pm
that is kind of uncanny. enjoyed meeting your friend that night – he seems v. cool. perhaps we can all get together and drink mulled wine sometime soon? december = sweet alcoholic drinks.
Ashok Mathuron December 7, 2006 at 6:55 am
Heya LL, So surprising you’d com across Tom’s work. Have been in touch with him o’er the last several years, on and off, and most recently have been trying to arrange a f2f meetup since am now in melb. Will be seeing Tom (along with Tseen et al) on sat for yum cha. FYI, would like to get him out to canada in the next year or so, and also to the cyprus performance symposium. The circle gets smaller as it goes global.. +a
Anonymouson December 11, 2006 at 1:56 pm
Hi Larissa,
I found your blog by googling “Monika Gagnon” in google. Am currently reading 13 conversations, the follow up to Other Conundrums.
Just wondering if you got my email, I sent it to your ubc account?
Totally unrelated post. I’m passing through Vancouver (for one day this weekend) and would like to pick up your books, as they’re not available where I live. Where would be the best place to look?
Gordon January 29, 2007 at 12:48 am
Ah well, never did manage to find them. Leslie Howle convinced me I’d like them, so I’ll have to order them online, as I’m most of the way to Incheon now… 🙂
Laineeon February 5, 2007 at 9:16 am
Hey Larissa. Salt fish girl is one of my favourite books. And it seems to have some resonance with teens too, though I wouldn’t necessarily classify it as a YA (young adult) book. My daughter (now sixteen) read it at thirteen and did a book report in her grade nine class. And now my thirteen year old son is reading it. Here’s what I think. Salt fish girl appeals to the unspeakable abject that adolescents experience in themselves. They see their own bodies as fluid and seething and a little monstrous. Why not get this book on junior high or high school reading lists? Just a thought. Are you working on another book?
dotoriouson March 5, 2007 at 9:28 am
Hey, stranger. Hope you made it back to Vancouver by now? See you some time soon? – Judy
Chrison March 13, 2007 at 10:44 am
Hello!
I just started reading Salt Fish Girl and I’m loving it so far. I’m looking forward to meeting you at York U on March 29! It’s cool to see that you know Wayde Compton and Shani Mootoo, both of whom have come here in recent years (I loved “Performance Bond” and “Cereus Blooms at Night”). Gail sure knows how to pick interesting writers. Anyway, time to go swimming with Miranda again…
regards, Chris Cornish (T.A. for “Canadian Writers in Person”)
Gordon March 15, 2007 at 11:17 pm
No worries. Not everyone visits their own blog as often as some of us navel-gazers.
I managed to order Fox from the service available here in Korea, which is nice. The other, I’ll be able to get through other means. 🙂
eric k. rzepka, e-doppelgangeron March 28, 2007 at 8:06 am
homo ludens, terrae
spon April 3, 2007 at 7:04 am
have you seen the ads for cooper cars?
Picture a red cooper car
above it, it reads: the paint still wet
below: you?
Sp
Kristin Sumneron April 5, 2007 at 2:40 pm
The secret to getting paint off of skin: dandruff shampoo. I believe what worked the best for me was Head and Shoulders with lots of zinc.
(Is it rude for me to post on–or read–your blog without warning or introduction or such?)
Leson May 1, 2007 at 8:22 am
hi larissa;
i’ve been trying to reach you as your contract came back in the mail to me and your email keeps bouncing! obviously i don’t have the right addresses for you anymore. i checked out your blog to try and reach you only to find that you are traveling exotic locales! sounds wonderful; i’m excited for you. anyway, please send an email to me in seattle when you get home so i can talk with you about your june trip here. have a great time the rest of your trip. all best; leslieh
Naloon May 5, 2007 at 4:55 am
I know what it’s like to be in a city for mere seconds, knowing there’s no way you can contact everyone you know who lives there. Or even remember who-all you know who lives there.
Paulon June 3, 2007 at 7:54 am
Off topic — I just read Alejandro Morales’s novel The Rag Doll Plagues. You might be interested in it if you haven’t already read it. 🙂
Mike P.on July 11, 2007 at 7:39 pm
This is interesting
I found other articles on the net that may spark your interest… Allied Interstate is one of the famous collection agencies. As I was doing research on it I found very interesting information about Allied Interstate. These are consumers that have suffered from Collection Agency’s practices…
napalm bombon March 1, 2008 at 8:45 pm
i don’t mean to be a jerk but……..the pirate girls reading on Feb. 20th was a disjunct! performance series event, not a KSW event.
love, disunct!
Larissa Laion March 22, 2008 at 9:13 am
Oops! Mea culpa mea culpa Oh Great Reimer-Wilcke. I’m still sad I missed it.
Yay for disjunct!
Hedgieon March 26, 2008 at 7:05 pm
“the Rachel poems are coming to life again in a class Alessandra Capperdoni is teaching at SFU. Mike Barnholden at LINE Books is reproducing the original chapbook in a very limited edition.”
Please please please tell me how to lay hands on a copy.
Last night was fun! Glad you joined us… see you tomorrow morning 🙂
michaelon April 20, 2009 at 10:39 pm
i like the idea of a world beneath the world – a “best of all possible worlds” scenario. it’s uplifting.
when i was a teenager, my parents told me about how scary the cuban missile crisis was and how close the world came to ending. it’s easy to forget how many times history, against all odds, turned out for the best.
Gurpreet Kamboon January 19, 2010 at 11:32 pm
Hi! I was in this project! I was err.. searching my name, curious to see what comes up and this did. Just kind of neat because Salt Fish Girl was a book i read and enjoyed last year. Did you go see it? Let me know what you thought.
Janice Williiamsonon March 30, 2010 at 7:34 am
You write: “How are we to understand that/those generative sites in relation to for the specificities of embodied experience—for Charles Bernstein after the loss of his daughter, for Lance Olsen after the murder of Theo Van Gogh, for Ayan Hirsi Ali, for young feminists in a still-patriarchal world, for Maria Damon and Adeena Karasick finding new, strong voices in collaboration? I think that some of the cultural work done by earlier conferences in the 90s could be productively brought back to the table—It’s a Cultural Thing, and Writing Through Race.”…..I repeat this to suggest how important this seems on reading your excellent review of this gathering. For those of us who couldn’t be there, it’s very helpful to read insightful accounts such as yours — you spell out what is at stake…Thanks.
[…] Lai, shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Award for her book Automaton Biographies, has blogged about her experience attending this past weekend’s BC Book Prizes. Larissa didn’t win, […]
Thank you for a fantastic account of the evening. Cheers to you on your fantastic achievements and to (hopefully) many many more!
zon August 31, 2010 at 3:14 pm
Hi, I saw the excerpts from Automaton Biographies on a vancouver bus downtown. It was crowded, a lurching ride and yet your poetry maintained its lucidity and integrity through this strangest of readings.
I went to VPublic Library and the kindle store, even Kobo and no they didn’t have your work.
Can you please make it possible for those of us who suffer under Chapters brutal pricing system, to gain a lawful copy by either through a request by your agent to libraries to have a stock, or atleast an e-pub edition.
Larissa, your message for Digital Natives – Your grandparents’ unacknowledged debts return to you as rage against the car in front – is absolutely brilliant. Thank you.
don’t know that i’ve considered, ever, crawling bakck inside my childhood. when i was growing up, i recall thinking how i behaved like i was 30. i used to practice sitting very still and quietly when waiting in a doctor’s office or at my dad’s work.
7 or 8 years ago, i felt a new childhood coming on as i entered university. i indulged in a lot of play and even silliness that i’d deemed “out-of-bounds” during my adult-adulating formative years. i recall considering the transformation almost a role-reversal — spent childhood years behaving like an adult, caring for family where parent(s) didn’t seem capable in a “normal” way at times. then, once on my own, i played at childlike behaviour.
a few years ago, i watched amelie and another childhood bloomed. i saw the world in a way i hadn’t before and marveled at it.
now, after a couple years of surface living, i’m opening that grand velvet drape where another child awaits.
xox
I’ve always thought it interesting to contrast “carnival” to the ideas of “consensus building” that we get in a more radical participatory democracy, and “catallaxy” which is the mode of democratic thinking that openly mimics economic thinking, especially the thinking around the market. Don’t know if that helps. I wrote a paper on it with regards to pedagogy if you’d like to read it.
if i hold my machine on my lap it warms my thighs. if my hands are cold, i just touch them to its underside. it’s like a hug without arms. good little machine.
this is FANTASTIC. thank you!
i read ‘armour’ as ‘amour’ and loved both incarnations.
congrats! this is awsome!
best of luck in the future…
over here people are really into their gadgets. they’re clunky compared to what’s to be found in asia, but they’re certainly much more ominpresent and heavily-used than in canada. only small domestic animals and alien lifeforms like myself are sans mobile phone. texting is HUGE and used extensively…not just for chatting between friends and associates, but also for business, civic stuff, information, contests. everywhere you go, even the smallest little shithole has a www address and a texting number, and then a regular phone number below that. everyone has an ipod or ipod ripoff. retirement-aged business people with the little white earphones and the tiny box in their breast pocket. back home it’s just the young tech-savvy havemoney that have started to use them.
you’d mentioned things beings slower and sort of behind here, technologically speaking, but i’m finding it’s mostly ahead. furthermore, my problematic orbitastudios email account works just fine here – it was often very slow and unreliable in calgary. which is a clear sign that telus high speed internet was the problem. everything is zippy over here. i have yet to do any printing or scanning or whatnot, so i don’t know what the equipment will be like, but there seems to be a good chance that it will be above my expectations.
as far as having a mobile…
i like being anonymous and somewhat unreachable, and yet i’m tempted to join the circus. it’s not just convenience – it’s pretty much become necessary. standard.
and it’s really surprisingly cheap.
but what i really want is one of those mini teenie tiny phones, like derek zoolander.
may be that’s the difference between london (where you are) and norwich (where i was). my forearm did not like having its wires pulled out.
but yeah, i loved the text thing when i was there. and it’s true, there was a whole culture around it. i’d often text my favorite people several times a day. it’s great because texting doesn’t really stop you from doing what you’re doing, but you stay hooked in to your important relationships. it’s pretty funny though, hearing everyone on the bus, in restaurants, and on the street constantly beeping.
i think you want one. give into your feelings, kruk, you know it to be true…
i’ve try to watch 2046 a couple of times now and it’s still no go –
but he really has a good eye – my personal favorite is still Happy Together and I of coarse chungking express is a sentimental 2nd
love
dfb
Hahaha!!!
a feast of food and friends with which to share. mawkish sentiment from the wet coast where we capture invertebrates and try to teach theory to the cat….
love and miss you, and oh, here’s jeff buckley coming thru on my I-Tunes…..time to capture a few tragic, honey-voiced boys to carry around in a back pocket, no?
Wow, Larissa! I can’t believe you delivered your paper, let alone delivered it so well! I had no clue you were in pain and I really enjoyed your thoughts on Chorus of Mushrooms. It’s been a long time since I read it, and I think I will pick it up again.
The vibe for the whole weekend was a little off. Like some bad mojo floating around. Maybe the panel was cursed. “Disturbing Alberta.” Hmm.
I know those dudes.
larissa, are you feeling better????? conor and i feel your pain all the way in tdot.
sending you healing and mechanical wings!!
hey thanks! i am feeling much better. wish i could get out of this *&^*)#$ cast and start physio already. wish i could walk… but my pain is way down, thank goodness.
thanks for the well wishes. hope things are good with you. looking forward to seeing the anthology!
residency at SFU? details please!!! does this mean your move to van is official?
also, any chance you’ll be in van for the S&S launch? i’m sure that’s too much to ask. it looks like i’ll be flying out for the glorious event. first time in vancouver! would, of course, be TREMENDOUS to cross paths w/ you there!
i guess i should be tooting my horn more loudly on that one. yes, i’ll be writer-in-residence through the english department at sfu in vancouver from january-june 2006. very excited about this, as there are lots of writers and thinkers in vancouver right now who seem to come from the same planet as me.
unfortunately, won’t be in van for S&S– travelling in taiwan and japan and not back until nov. 27. so i will just miss you. big drag. but i will be thinking about you and sending the hippiest love-vibes possible across the pacific to the great land of lotuses. er… loti?
o i so want to get into the phd prog at sfu already. esp. b/c you might still be around there larissa. hope your foot is off your mind a bit today. tho if it was i’ve gone and ruined it… dang. talk to you soon.
i cross my fingers for you jc. i predict that in the next few years calgary is going to take vancouver by storm.
and then we take berlin…
very exciting, larissa! huge congrats on the residency!! goooooo christie!
poor knuckles and heels in calgary.
such tragedy.
without our good luck kruk we are meek lambs lost in a field of sharp objects, and highly prone to injury.
GOOD LUCK LALAI!!!!!!!!
Good luck on your recovery!
that’s awesome about the chapbook. sorry about the incorrect credit!
jpf
thanks frances kruk!
thanks! and thanks for including me in a fabulous anthology. no worries about the credit. i quite like serendipitous errors.
ll
Have you tried using the little picture button on the Blogger “new post” page? I find it the easiest way to upload pictures.
Never mind. I see that you have. Works fine from a Mac for me.
Hi there,hows your foot?I am stuck in the same color cast as you,lol.It really stinks to shower and stuff,e-mail me and feel better,David.
could it look like sustainable energies employed by vegetarians living in a small maui commune a la woody harrelson?
I know there’s a way, with Flickr, to e-mail photos and have them uploaded? I’ve never tried this method — but if you’re able to e-mail images, that might be a way to upload photos!
http://flickr.com/help/photos/#16
Larissa, we mith you. Glad you’re having fun!
Thanks, Sandy! No luck yet with Flickr. I think the problem is with iPhoto. Glen says export to a folder on the desktop first, and then upload from there. Report, or photos, shortly.
Miss you too. How’s it going back there?
Thanks, Nalo! I got it working just as you suggest. The sneaky trick is exporting the photos out of iPhoto first. Taiwan is one kind of culture shock. Mac world is another…
Good! I am at work now and leaving to go home for supper. Cara Hedley is back in town and we all had drinks with her last night at Molly Malone’s. I’d like to see the 228 museum someday… I don’t want any betel nut.
Larissa! I’m really enjoying your updates. Thank you for keeping us informed of your travels and insights. We miss you!! Be safe.
Thanks Jason Christie! I’ve been following your travels on your blog too. It’s nice to have a sense of being there, even when you’re not. Miss you too. Greetings to all the kids.
hey; been reading yr last few posts, of yr tour with wayde, roy, fred, etc. very envious. hoping to see pieces (lit or crit) by each of you, perhaps, after you get home?
I am interested to know more about how many betel nut girls do more than sell betel nuts. Most people say they are just selling nuts, but I think it is inevitable a certain percentage of them are going to earn a bit of extra money by doing you know what.
Have a look at my webpage about betel nut beauties.
but being too polite and gracious doesn’t really help all that much either?
there’s a lot of politesse and beating around the bush over here. so nothing ever gets done. no progress. you can’t kill (or nurse, whichever may be the case) the beast if you don’t approach it head on and touch it.
a few weeks ago, a girl was hit and killed by a bus somewhere in london, and about a week afterwards there was outrage in the headlines that transport london and the city hadn’t put in more effort to try to call witnesses forward. the normal practice after such an incident would be to put up posters near the site to ask witnesses to come forward, in order to help with the investigation. no posters went up because the officials in question were “concerned that the wording of the poster might be inappropriate.” why? because they might have had to list the facts? (a south asian girl was hit and killed by a bus…yes, it’s ugly, but it must be stated. especially if witnesses are needed).
then again, if you’re not excessively polite (albeit very obviously fakely so) around here, people will not even give you the time of day.
We miss you too, Larissa!
Welcome home, Larissa!
Thanks, Andrea!
thanks for the kind words larissa. though it was not jordan who read, but kevin mcpherson eckhoff. anyway i’m so glad you enjoyed the call/response chapbook, i’m very pleased about how it turned out, especially since i’ve never done any previous concrete works.
i just figured that out. apologies to kevin. it was a good reading.
Larissa! You are such a wonderful person. Thank you for reading last night and for your kind words in your blog entry. Transition belies the illusion of stasis. I’m sad to think about missing you but I’m also really excited about the prospect of getting to visit you in the new place (and potentially seeing you all the time if Andrea and I move further west for school). Strange how words like new, transition, stasis, missing, have such emphatic connotations. Take missing for example. There will definitely be a Larissa sized space left by your departure. It will be apparent by the things which edge the space, the lives you’ve touched and the kindness you’ve shown. My head is hurting from last night so much of this probably doesn’t make any sense! Sorry about that. Luck with the packing! See you soon. xoxo
Larissa, I am sorry Jason is such a wank.
Also, please please get in touch with me if you need any help moving, cleaning, other things…when you get into BC. I will always be here for you! xoxox
jordan, you are very rude.
i like it when boys have feelings. and i’m sure jordan meant ‘wank’ in the nicest possible way.
I am so sorry, I forgot the capitalize the W in wank, referring to the mountain in Europe and not the insult. For the record, Wank is a mountain in the Bavarian Alps. It is possible to spend a night at the peak of the Wank, in an inn called the Wankhaus which was built in 1911 Many English speaking tourists traveling in nearby Austria make a detour in order to go to Wank.
I have hiked Wank, and meant to say I was sorry Jason has not. I love that guy…
Wank is the largest peak in Wankteria, no?
Yay! Leg liberation from the plaster of the past. Vive votre jambe!
That’s a common misapprehension. In fact, “Wink,” “Wimp,” and “Wonk” are all higher. Hikers failing to achieve the heights of these attempt “Wank” as a sort of consolation. The view from it’s peak is, however, exhilarating.
Congrats to your healing mechanisms, Larissa!
have a great bipedal day! how long before you can do yoga again?
thanks for the well wishes, friends. my leg loves to breathe. i tried yoga today, which was great for my head, but the tendon is still super-tight. the official (one size fits all)word is no yoga for three months. wanna see foucault in action? try alberta health care. i am in the midst of trying to hook up with a physio who understands my planet…
Metropolis is one of my favourite films … but it is creepy to watch in that it was well-known to be a favourite film of Hitler’s, who after viewing it tried to hire Lang to direct propaganda films (Lang left the country, though his wife took the job). I’m not sure how Hitler managed to misunderstand the film so much that he thought Lang would be sympathetic. maybe because he was crazy.
In spite of it’s surface text, I think Metropolis romances fascism as much as Hitler romanced it. Watch it for the light, and the way whiteness is troped. The romance continues in Bladerunner– check the figure of Roy Batty in particular. I agree though, it is creepy to recognize one shares an aesthetic, however provisional, with a monster. But then, one only need look south to see how many of us still do. And remember, “Nazi” is short for National Socialist… How do ya like them apples?
sending xoxoxoxoxoxox
ps
thanks, jordan, for your very sweet offer to help me when i get to the couve. i’ll very likely take you up on it.
We’ll miss you too 🙁 🙁
sigh.
aw.
good luck with your move Larissa!
I will hopefully be doing the same thing soon (to Toronto). I need some culture and I need it fast!
take care
happy move, larissa!! how long will you live in vancouver — 6 months? january to july? is this the length of the writer-in-residency? i’m all curious for detail. i hope to visit vancouver again, while you’re there!
it’s called “the littlest engine that could” and it was blue with big puffy cheeks. one of my favourites, unfortunately lost. up, up, up the mountains…
BIG SIS! Happy to find your blog! Hope thins are going well with the move.
Glad to hear you are safe! Thx for the update.
just as long as you dont take pictures while you drive. bad habit of mine – which caused a problem in that same area for me a few weeks ago. i always figure a lot of pics while driving equals a stop, and i hate stopping.
it’s so beautiful. how long will you be in the couv? i’d like to come visit!
One thing that’s good about both Vancouver and Winnipeg is the abundance of cheap, good food.
Oh Calgary, wherfore art thou chain-restaurant beholden?
Ahem…
good food AND yoga — you sound happy. glad to hear you’re settling in. merry christmas from your old ‘hood!
nikki
happy happy and lots of love.
happy new year larissa – miss you around the fine city, hope to see you soon!
— db
miss you guys
merry merry
Happy New Year! No more sad faces, please. I’m reading and loving When Fox Is a Thousand.
Miss you!
That is a really cute picture! Glad to hear you are settling in. All best for 06!
Happy New Years Larissa!! Just got back in — there was no cell reception at Halcyon! Wish you were there.
I’ll give you a ring later! sandy x
two normal shoes! hurrah!
wow, on saturday night in vancouver i also went to blim, habit, and then dancing. i found the veggie shephard’s pie at habit quite tasty!
“what happens to bodies paid…?”
Sounds like Vancouver is keeping you busy, even if perhaps wet and felicidal.
Why isn’t Rita’s hair tied back? It should have been tied back. Bad kitchen hygiene Hiromi!!
jeez. kitchen police. 😉
You’re like Jimmy Stewart in Hitchcock’s Rear Window.
i think there’s a body under all that gravel.
in swedish, racoon is tvat bjoorn. translates as ‘washing bear’. any help?
hm. may the raccoon was a sign that it was going to rain, and we would all get washed.
And did the Chinese woman who kindly surrendered her seat to him hear this? I guess that makes her a ‘nice chink’. God, that makes me so angry. I would have beat him with a crutch, Larissa, if you still had them.
“…Was it him, me, or the city…” Well, it wasn’t you. And I’ve noticed that racism directed towards Asian/Asian-Heritage folks is much more vocal in Vancouver than in some cities– so does that mean the guy is not to blame? Hardly. But he’s got the implicit support of the culture at large to say racist and rude things. So it’s the city? No– cuz of course Vancouver is also home to a culture of political awareness and action. Bleargh.
A simple “Fuck you” is probably called for in that situation. Or crutch-beating if possible.
Or, you could say “You’ve just committed a hate crime, and unless you get off the bus immediately, I’m making a citizen’s arrest.”
Ugh. How ugly and awful. I agree with what Jill and Sandy said.
This reminds me of a friend of mine who had major surgery on her stomach. For a few months afterward she couldn’t go up and down stairs, and she was often really self conscious about taking the elevator one floor in the Social Sciences tower. To look at her, you wouldn’t know that she was unable to take the stairs. People make such nasty assumptions about others.
congratulations larissa!!!
wooooohoooooooooo!!!!!!
They are quite excellent. You’ve seen their web site, right: http://www.critical-art.net?
am i allowed to come talk to you about writing if, um, i already know you? hypothetically speaking ,of course.
“the civilian force will buy the technology of their enslavement” is sort of like us paying for our education!
aw… thanks for the support. and yes, napalm bomb, of course you are. hypothetically speaking.
Hi Larissa,
At Northwest Passages (www.nwpassages.com) we help people like Paul all the time to get books for their courses that aren’t available in the countries in which they are teaching. It’s really amazing how many important Canadian books are not available at all in the States.
Congratulations on the second printing!
luv
J
Have you seen Cronenberg’s eXistenZ? We’re screening that in my contemporary lit class in which we’re reading Salt Fish Girl.
I have indeed. I am a huge Cronenberg fan. And when I watched eXistenZ, I remember thinking it was in some way a remake of Videodrome. That’s cool that you’re doing SFG!
if thats the terrance houle from calgary, say hello for me – his work is really incredible, humourous and wonderfully engaging. buy him a beer for me, and let him know ive been thinking of him,,,
-papa-d
Larissa, it was very good to meet you, hear your work (I can’t wait for “The New Flesh”) and find out that you’re available to students in The Writer’s Studio @ SFU.
Please pass on my sincere regrets to Garry that I didn’t show to his reading on Saturday at the Roundhouse.
Yum.
I remembered some people were squeamish about blood so I quickly sent them “WAIT, DON’T WATCH THAT” e-mails, but it was probably too late.
Interesting – ice and lilies
Sorry I never got to say bye, I guess I kind of crept out the back door of the Shala when Jeff left. Did we all jump ship at the same time?
Anyways, congratulations on the Residency. Its good to read from you.
Aaron
isn’t the world beautiful though?
sigh
Does she rewrite her books often? I know I have two copies of The Rain Ascends that are slightly different….
i don’t know. i like the idea of a text that is constantly morphing. can’t wait ’til they make digital paper.
I’m not sure what stage of development this electronic paper projectis in, but your comment made me think of it. (I somehow stumbled across this web page a few years ago — it doesn’t look like it’s been updated since then.)
what happens if you don’t like mushrooms? sp
leave them out. add other good things if you want, like shredded bamboo shoots, or tinned corn, or even chopped up carrots, or frozen peas. that’s the great thing about this dish. endlessly flexible.
I like the title of your post, Larissa. It brought back memories of Snow Falling on Cedars which I liked so much. Far more than anything he’s written since.
Good luck at your reading, Larissa. I hope you do great!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!
We Love You Larissa!!!!!!!! Congrats!!!!!!!!!
(ps. I need your address so I can send you these books and then you can tell me how much they suck!)
can you tell me more about this phallus shrine – where is it located ? There was one at the Hilton Hotel Bangkok that I visited a long time ago.. Is this a different one ? Do you know of any other phallus shrines ?
wow – huge congrats!
— derek
Bravo, Larissa, from Claire and me. Congrats to UBC for making a smart move!
Robert Majzels
that’s awesome! congratulations!!! i was telling somebody at the u of c the other day they had better offer you a job before UBC hired you…. too late!!
i just read your Nascent Fashion book and it’s incredible! easily the best chapbook i’ve read for a while. the poem “we entered the desert in despair” is particularly well done. overall a very chilling and kinetic book.
Thanks for all the well wishes, friends. Sorry I’ve been so absent.
Hey Larissa,
My friend Lesley successfully defended her thesis: Queering the
Corporate Body: Identity and Postfeminisms in Larissa Lai’s ‘Salt Fish
Girl’
Check out her website: bibliographic.net/les
Wow! How cool is that?!
congratulations, no kidding. when can we read it…
A+++++!
Congratulations, Larissa!! Time to BURN IT! just kidding.
ohhhhh looming dr lai…..xxxxx
look at you go! I sure am proud of you la lai.
Hi Larissa,
I’m an SFU student who stumbled across your blog a few months ago. I love discovering that we have an online community as well; I was also quite tickled pink to discover the blog “trans-scribing canada”.
Along the lines of young writers–I’m working on a chapbook that I’d like to have finished by the end of the summer, and it would be absolutely fabulous if you could take a look at some of the poems that will be in it. I’m not in the lower mainland anymore, though, and I’m not sure how you feel about doing these things over email. I figure there’s no harm in asking, though!
Thanks so much.
Hi Larissa, how’s trix? I’m doing a review of the chapbook for an upcoming issue of _filling Station_ and wondered if you had any comments or thoughts relevant to the perception of the book. Feel free to email me at colinmart@gmail.com
CONGRATS, doc!!
CONGRATS, Dr. Lai!
here’s the link to the uts’am website for anyone interested in going –
see http://www.roundhouse.ca/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=12
i wish i could go again – it’s deeply inspiring,
rita
hey, i just stumbled upon your blog…thanks for being around…you poetry is fabulaous arif
hey, say ‘hi’ to lily. she was kind enough to read my undergrad. thesis last year.
have you seen the dialogue going on at tim yu’s blog? i think it may interest you. a couple of us (P.Lu, Chris Chen etc) are having a dialogue about ‘race’ and poetics. maybe you’re interested?
arif
here’s pam’s blog spot
http://openreader.blogspot.com/
contact her if you’re interested in being part of a listserve discussion on ‘race’ and postmodern poetics.
arif
ps. damn it looks so amazing – where you are.
http://www.namedevelopment.com/blog/archives/2005/12/coke_is_back_in.html
sometimes i almost can’t believe it.
That’s glorious.
wow the glowing animals are beautiful and spooky. i want a paper animal. xo
Hi Lari! Looking forward to your triumphant return to Calgary for the Blow-Out! (You’re coming, right??!)
Your sister should be fine. Being a doctor, she’ll probably be smart enough to take care of herself! 🙂
What a small world it truly is…
I just so happend to stumble upon your blog and decided to take a look at what you encountered at the WUF festival.
The “art” that you’ve chosen to capture in this photograph just so happend to be made by yours truly!
My friend and I took out 15 min to leave our mark on the back of the bus – this is it!
Belated happy birthday!
Thanks, Paul!
Happy birthday Larissa!! Lots of hugs and love.
xoxoxox
Sandy and Chris
PS: We seriously need to get together next time we’re in the same city.
Belated. D’oh.
larissa, thank you for such excellent description of khang’s “mediamorphosis.” i located his project’s artist statement online, and it sounds parallel with my work on wide slumber for lepidopterists.
would you know, by chance, a way for me to reach david?
hiya,
i think there are times when mass email is good. for instance, i really appreciate jayce salloum’s (infrequent) emails. it is hard to deal with email volume, yes, but if we’re in the iron room together, i’d rather be awake than asleep. even if i don’t always have the energy to immediately process what comes in, there’s a chance i may in my own time and space. i’d like to suggest there’s a difference between spam (which i don’t want, from vendors i don’t know) and mass emails (which can connect us to networks we care about). i think i send fewer mass emails these days because of email fatigue, but i will still send them occasionally if i feel moved to, and i hope it’s good.
…hey!
…i
…am
…not
…a
…robot!
(…tho they are always watching me…)
ibibl
oh yeah? now you’re a PARANOID robot. how do you even know you really posted that comment? how do you know your memories are yours?
ha ha HA. (wrathful god-like laugh)
non-robots: check out Jason Christie’s full confession in his book I, Robot: http://www.edgewebsite.com/books/irobotpoetry/ir-catalog.html
sweet!!! i missed it. and i miss you! i’m sure you didn’t say anything dumb. you are a smartie pants.
word verification=wfbffnxu
i love that blogger calls it word verification as if that’s a word! someone needs to write that dictionary.
damn i wish i knew that on monday! who interviewed you? did you know that i’m working at the cbc?
Hello, Larissa. I didn’t see you on TV but you’re in a blog I share with some other Canadian writers. It relates to your UVic reading earlier this month. Hope you don’t mind. You can read it at:
http://canadian-writers-collective.blogspot.com/2006/10/being-heard-art-as-activism.html
o kp.
word verification = sdoei
ll;
sorry, jane and i will be in iceland during your visit, we’ll miss you … hopefully we’ll be able to catch up soon…
— derek
november 11=day for remembering all of your loved ones who brave(d?) vancity.
Hey, Larissa, turns out Claire and I are in Calgary these days. Actually I’m in TO until Monday PM, but Claire’s home. We ain’t the old crew but we’d luv to get together.
bob Majzels
rmajzels@ucalgary.ca
clairehuot@shaw.ca
yay! be great to see you guys. let’s meet between 9 and 9:30.
derek, we will miss you 🙁
so – how did it go?
— derek
congratulations doktorrrrrrr…..
Ooo! Sequel to SFG! Also, have you published your long poem on Blade Runner anywhere?
Thanks, Frances Kruk!
I’ll Ooo tOoo, if I can get the albatross off the ground!
The Rachel poem exists only as a very limited run chapbook, unfortunately. (I gave you one, right?) I’d love to put the long poems together into a collection, perhaps with the addition of one or two more. Someone yell fire, may be I’ll do it.
Alas, I did not ask you for a copy of the chapbook. Sadness.
that is kind of uncanny. enjoyed meeting your friend that night – he seems v. cool. perhaps we can all get together and drink mulled wine sometime soon? december = sweet alcoholic drinks.
Heya LL,
So surprising you’d com across Tom’s work. Have been in touch with him o’er the last several years, on and off, and most recently have been trying to arrange a f2f meetup since am now in melb. Will be seeing Tom (along with Tseen et al) on sat for yum cha. FYI, would like to get him out to canada in the next year or so, and also to the cyprus performance symposium. The circle gets smaller as it goes global.. +a
Hi Larissa,
I found your blog by googling “Monika Gagnon” in google. Am currently reading 13 conversations, the follow up to Other Conundrums.
Just wondering if you got my email, I sent it to your ubc account?
If not, please email me at ccheung@ucalgary.ca.
thanks,
Christine
A SEQUEL!!! OMFG! that is exciting larissa.
verification des mots: auwxcdph
Larissa,
Totally unrelated post. I’m passing through Vancouver (for one day this weekend) and would like to pick up your books, as they’re not available where I live. Where would be the best place to look?
Ah well, never did manage to find them. Leslie Howle convinced me I’d like them, so I’ll have to order them online, as I’m most of the way to Incheon now… 🙂
Hey Larissa. Salt fish girl is one of my favourite books. And it seems to have some resonance with teens too, though I wouldn’t necessarily classify it as a YA (young adult) book. My daughter (now sixteen) read it at thirteen and did a book report in her grade nine class. And now my thirteen year old son is reading it. Here’s what I think. Salt fish girl appeals to the unspeakable abject that adolescents experience in themselves. They see their own bodies as fluid and seething and a little monstrous. Why not get this book on junior high or high school reading lists? Just a thought. Are you working on another book?
Hey, stranger. Hope you made it back to Vancouver by now? See you some time soon? – Judy
Hello!
I just started reading Salt Fish Girl and I’m loving it so far. I’m looking forward to meeting you at York U on March 29! It’s cool to see that you know Wayde Compton and Shani Mootoo, both of whom have come here in recent years (I loved “Performance Bond” and “Cereus Blooms at Night”). Gail sure knows how to pick interesting writers. Anyway, time to go swimming with Miranda again…
regards,
Chris Cornish
(T.A. for “Canadian Writers in Person”)
No worries. Not everyone visits their own blog as often as some of us navel-gazers.
I managed to order Fox from the service available here in Korea, which is nice. The other, I’ll be able to get through other means. 🙂
homo ludens, terrae
have you seen the ads for cooper cars?
Picture a red cooper car
above it, it reads:
the paint still wet
below: you?
Sp
The secret to getting paint off of skin: dandruff shampoo. I believe what worked the best for me was Head and Shoulders with lots of zinc.
(Is it rude for me to post on–or read–your blog without warning or introduction or such?)
hi larissa;
i’ve been trying to reach you as your contract came back in the mail to me and your email keeps bouncing! obviously i don’t have the right addresses for you anymore. i checked out your blog to try and reach you only to find that you are traveling exotic locales! sounds wonderful; i’m excited for you. anyway, please send an email to me in seattle when you get home so i can talk with you about your june trip here. have a great time the rest of your trip. all best; leslieh
I know what it’s like to be in a city for mere seconds, knowing there’s no way you can contact everyone you know who lives there. Or even remember who-all you know who lives there.
Off topic — I just read Alejandro Morales’s novel The Rag Doll Plagues. You might be interested in it if you haven’t already read it. 🙂
This is interesting
I found other articles on the net that may spark your interest…
Allied Interstate is one of the famous collection agencies. As I was doing research on it I found very interesting information about Allied Interstate. These are consumers that have suffered from Collection Agency’s practices…
i don’t mean to be a jerk but……..the pirate girls reading on Feb. 20th was a disjunct! performance series event, not a KSW event.
love,
disunct!
Oops! Mea culpa mea culpa Oh Great Reimer-Wilcke. I’m still sad I missed it.
Yay for disjunct!
“the Rachel poems are coming to life again in a class Alessandra Capperdoni is teaching at SFU. Mike Barnholden at LINE Books is reproducing the original chapbook in a very limited edition.”
Please please please tell me how to lay hands on a copy.
It sounds great!
Larissa, I hope Clarion is good to you. San Diego and Shanghai, too.
Maybe you remember me from Clarion West. Can you get hold of me today or Friday via my email address?
Hi Larissa!
Last night was fun! Glad you joined us… see you tomorrow morning 🙂
i like the idea of a world beneath the world – a “best of all possible worlds” scenario. it’s uplifting.
when i was a teenager, my parents told me about how scary the cuban missile crisis was and how close the world came to ending. it’s easy to forget how many times history, against all odds, turned out for the best.
Hi! I was in this project! I was err.. searching my name, curious to see what comes up and this did. Just kind of neat because Salt Fish Girl was a book i read and enjoyed last year. Did you go see it? Let me know what you thought.
You write: “How are we to understand that/those generative sites in relation to for the specificities of embodied experience—for Charles Bernstein after the loss of his daughter, for Lance Olsen after the murder of Theo Van Gogh, for Ayan Hirsi Ali, for young feminists in a still-patriarchal world, for Maria Damon and Adeena Karasick finding new, strong voices in collaboration? I think that some of the cultural work done by earlier conferences in the 90s could be productively brought back to the table—It’s a Cultural Thing, and Writing Through Race.”…..I repeat this to suggest how important this seems on reading your excellent review of this gathering. For those of us who couldn’t be there, it’s very helpful to read insightful accounts such as yours — you spell out what is at stake…Thanks.
[…] Lai, shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Award for her book Automaton Biographies, has blogged about her experience attending this past weekend’s BC Book Prizes. Larissa didn’t win, […]
Thank you for a fantastic account of the evening. Cheers to you on your fantastic achievements and to (hopefully) many many more!
Hi,
I saw the excerpts from Automaton Biographies on a vancouver bus downtown. It was crowded, a lurching ride and yet your poetry maintained its lucidity and integrity through this strangest of readings.
I went to VPublic Library and the kindle store, even Kobo and no they didn’t have your work.
Can you please make it possible for those of us who suffer under Chapters brutal pricing system, to gain a lawful copy by either through a request by your agent to libraries to have a stock, or atleast an e-pub edition.
Thanks
Larissa, your message for Digital Natives – Your grandparents’ unacknowledged debts return to you as rage against the car in front – is absolutely brilliant. Thank you.
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