October 14, 2011
No title comes to mind
Click here to read I’m a Good Story.
Coming at you from the East Coast! North York to be exact. Home of, um, a bunch of ravines, a huge Canadian Tire and lots of strip malls. It’s not so bad. I’m staying with my folks, who are eating dinner as I write this at 4:15 p.m.
First off, here’s a little something I wrote for CP on Canadian scouts. Apparently it’s the hip happening thing for the youngens to do these days.
As for my life in Canada’s most important city, here’s a few snapshots…
I went to my first baptism, or as my dad kept calling it, “baby waterboarding”.
I wanted to take full advantage of the fact that the Toronto Transit Commission allows dogs to ride subways and buses (!!!!!!) . This is unheard of in Vancouver, which is super annoying. Anyhow, Dutchie didn’t like it, not one bit. She shook and panted uncontrollably the entire trip.
I went to a cottage for a day, which was somewhere far and couldn’t be accessed by GPS.
Then I slept at a beautiful B&B that had really cool curtains and headboard fabric.
Then it was my birthday. One of the best ones on record. Of course Chris tried to embarrass me.
Then we went to a park and basked in the glorious sunshine.
Dan was there and here’s the proof!
Then we went to a bunch of bars and wound up at Lakeview diner. That’s it!
So Toronto, is there anything/anywhere I desperately need to hit up now that I’m here? Do tell.
September 20, 2011
Rolling steep
Click here to read I’m a Good Story.
So I’m moving out of town this week and I’m feeling surprisingly on top of things. Haven’t felt overwhelmed. Yet. I have a couple more days to get things done and I have a good feeling I’ll be a-o-k.
When I haven’t been packing and cleaning and tying up loose ends, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying my city and its surrounding areas.
Oh before we get to that, click here to read something I wrote about reality shows in Vancouver. Click click click. Please.
Okay. Photos of me having fun…
…eating dim sum with Jenni Lee Nelson.
Or more specifically, cloud buns.
Uncle Kier!
Holy cow, it’s Cactus Katie! And her fantastic band, Safety Show!
The Breakfast Club.
Baby on a drum!
Hooray for sweaty armpits!
I took Leah on a Harbour Cruise.
On the most perfect day Vancouver’s ever seen.
Then we ate waffle sandwiches and drank flavoured milk.
I went for a walk with Kyla who said this reminded her of a gaping lady vagina.
She happened to look hot.
Me having a hard time deciding which of the 281 flavours of ice cream I wanted.
Look whats’ going on here with Ayma.
Get it?
I went to Victoria for 24 hours to visit Tarina, pictured here looking like an 80s journalist.
We stayed somewhere with a really pretty view.
We also visited my favourite beach.
Dogs.
Visited Beacon Hill park, where I practices a bird mating call I learned on this birding tour I did in Muskoka a few months ago. This guy and another guy ended up battling over me. I didn’t get any shots because I was right in the middle, trying to protect myself from their sharp talons. It was crazy!
My neighbours and I had a yard sale. Mostly we just dressed up in other people’s stupid clothes and drank beermosas (Lucky Strike beer with Sunny D. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.)
Yoga’s clearly come in handy.
Boys are stupid.
Today was our last day volunteering at the hospital for a while. We were pretty sad.
I want to make a joke about carrying my heart in your pocket, above your heart in a pocket…sleeve? What am I getting at? (That’s my card.)
Okay, that’s it. What’s new with you?
September 2, 2011
When you’re waiting for a miracle
Click here to read I’m a Good Story.
So, did you hear the news? I’m heading to Toronto for a bit. Yeah! My hometown. Trying to get excited. My head’s all over the place. I’ll spare the details. I’m currently killing some time as I wait for a friend to come crash at my house. So I’m online, posting some photos of recent times.
I eat a lot of fruit in the summer. Wow, right?
Dutchie, Dutchie, goose.
Chris and I came across this while we went for a walk in the woods. From afar, it looked like a dead infant and we nearly freaked.
Ali’s birthday. What a moment.
Went for a walk with Ken Hegan and came across this at the end of it. Appropriately enough.
Chris stayed with me for two whole weeks and we didn’t get sick of each other once. Not once.
Can’t get enough of my clown shirt.
Right?
Oh hello there with your two different coloured eyes.
Jeets was in town/I got a really pretty new dress.
This is one of the many things I’m going to miss about Vancouver. The murder of crows that fill the evening sky, eastbound, each night.
Okay. Send me a note or something. I could use a good pep talk/love these days. Write@eliannalev.com
August 17, 2011
Episode 27 – Chatting with Nardwuar/The End
Click here to listen to the 27th and final episode of the People’s Program Project. Click here to read I’m a Good Story.
So after nearly three years, I’m putting this project to an end. And who better to bury this shit with than with one of the world’s greatest gonzo journalists, Nardwuar the Human Serviette!
It’s not so much an interview as it is a chat. (Well, a chat n’ chew, ’cause we were eating lunch the whole time. At the Tomahawk Grill. A popular place in Nardworld.) Nardwuar really shaped my style and tone as a journalist…I aspire to be as entertaining and informative as he is. His work is certainly memorable.
That said, I got into some deeper shit with the Vancouver icon, including what made him the way he is (read: not like you and me), how he deals with anger and what saved him when he was close to dying. He also dropped a ton of his pop cultural expertise, including bits on Sebastian Bach, Sharon Stone on Arsenio Hall, and his relationship with Snoop Dogg.
Anyhow, thanks for listening to this wee project of mine for the last few years. It’s been super fun, though I certainly lost my drive about a year and a half in. Producing takes a lot of time and energy and my passion kind of just fizzled out. (Though my love for podcasts and the art of radio will live on. There’s a potential new project in the works, relating to science and storytelling.)
Big, huge thanks to…
♥Aaron Beckum, for producing the music for the first eight episodes. (Now he works with way cooler people than you do.)
♥Amber and Josh of Lightening Dust and Jagjawuar for letting me use the song “Wind Me Up” in the intro and extro.
♥Everyone who shared their stories with me.
♥Ashley Webber, Chris Smith, Louise Burns, Bogus Tokus for letting me use their music. You should listen to it. It’s real good.
♥Bob from Vancouver is Awesome for putting up a couple of episodes.
AND…of course, ♥♥♥y’all♥♥♥ for listening! (Hearts.) It’s seriously meant the world to me.
And now, at the tender (and lethal) age of 27, we are done! Thanks again.
August 10, 2011
Good Vibe Island
Click here to read I’m a Good Story and click here to listen to the People’s Program Project.
Hiya. I’ll start this with a few links to some of my work that’s been out there in the webesphere. Here’s a piece I did on teen photographer Petra Collins that got picked up all over the place. (Hot young girls with talent generate interest. Not surprised. Also, helps to have ArtStars in there. And Tavi.) Here’s a piece I did on Jenni Lee Nelson and her fantastic vintage store in the Downtown Eastside. Here’s a piece I did on Deandra, the lady I owe for having magnificent hair, and her new salon and her inspiring everything. Also, if this gets something like 300 more hits, I make an extra 50 buck. So please click! Then I can subscribe to a magazine or something.
So there’s that. I have a bunch of photos to share. This past weekend I was fortunate enough to attend Dave and Abby’s wedding on Gabriola Island, one of my favourite places in the world. (Note: I originally wrote “Galiano” because for some reason I ALWAYS mix the two up, despite the fact that Gabriola is my favorite place in the world and I had just spent five hours writing about it yesterday. I’m a dumb-dumb. Freudian geographical slip or something.)
Snack buffet and travel companion, Larry David.
The view from the cabin I stayed at. The day I went over, an armed and dangerous man was on the loose on the island after a woman was murdered. (No joke.) I was kinda scared of the idea of staying in the cabin in the middle of the woods, alone. But it was all right. Marvelous, in fact.
There were some cliff formations on the property so I went out and took moody pictures.
This represents my pretty, feminine mood.
Later that night, after I spent the day doing interviews for a story I’m writing, I went over to Nanaimo to pick up some comedians and friends.
They were likely laughing about the creepiest kid alive, who was also on the ferry.
The night before the wedding. Alicia and Graham gave Dabby bread slippers. If you listen to Dave’s podcast (and you probably do) you’ll know the joke.
Me, clownface and the bread slippers.
The next day a bunch of us went to the Malaspina Galleries, which was one of the most beautiful places I’ve visited in recent times. The above photos weren’t them.
This was them. Holy smoly.
Then the fellas started jumping into the water, all carefree styles.
I didn’t jump. I chose to slip in.
Almost wedding time. This is the part where everyone takes advantage of how pretty and handsome they look and takes pictures of everyone else. I think Alicia stole the show, after the bride, of course.
Is it getting warm or what? Myself with some handsome fellas.
Then the stunning ceremony, which included but wasn’t limited to adorable flower girls in handmade dresses, a cry-worthy poem and quote about love, a butterfly AND an eagle. Not to mention the absolutely knock-out bride. I had a sneak peak at the shoes and dress design but Abby just blew my mind with how she pulled it off. Every detail of that outfit blew my brain right out of my head.
I was lucky to clock some Grampa time. He’s my #1 (a). [Dutchie is my #1 (b).]
WE HAVE ALLERGIES!
More stunningness.
Dan and I pretending we have chemistry.
The next day when I came home my beautiful neighbour was having a girl’s bbq croquet party in my backyard and happened to have invited every single hot girl in this city. Too bad you weren’t invited.
Then I went to another bbq and this anime character was there.
And these two fantastic staple friends.
Oh, did you know my mum’s been in town and it’s been absolutely divine?
