HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Yay! My most favorite day of the year has arrived! I'm already going to start putting on my costume.

In the meantime, enjoy this!



And a ps. of sorts, got my tattoos yesterday.

We Feel Fine: An Almanac of Human Emotion.

This book is going to be available in the next month, and earlier this year the writers, Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar, approached me asking to use a photograph from my old blog. They've invited me to the opening party (too bad it's in New York), but I'm getting a free copy! Here's some information from amazon.com


"Astonishing and brilliant." -- New York magazine

"A mesmerizing visual experiment." -- Reuters

In this dazzling exploration of contemporary human feelings, digital whiz kids Sep Kamvar and Jonathan Harris use their computer programs to peer into the inner lives of millions, constructing a vast and deep portrait of our collective emotional landscape. Armed with custom software that scours the English-speaking world's new Internet blog posts every minute, hunting down the phrases "I feel" and "I am feeling," the authors have collected over 12 million feelings since 2005, amassing an ever-growing database of human emotion that adds more than 10,000 new feelings a day. Drawing from this massive real-world stockpile of found sentiment, We Feel Fine: An Almanac of Human Emotion presents the best of the best -- the euphoria, the despair, the passion, the dreams, and the desires that make us human. At turns touching and thought-provoking, humorous and heartbreaking, We Feel Fine combines the words and pictures of total strangers to explore every corner of the human experience. Packed with personal photos, scientific observations, statistical infographics, and countless candid vignettes from ordinary people, We Feel Fine is a visual, fiercely intelligent, endlessly engrossing crash course in the secrets of human emotion. Are men or women happier? Does rainy weather affect how we feel? Is beauty the bridge between happiness and negativity? How do our emotions change as we age? What causes depression? What's sexy? What's normal? What's human? We Feel Fine finally provides a way to answer these questions that is both quantitative and anecdotal, putting individual stories into a larger context and showing the stories behind the statistics -- or as the authors like to say, "bringing life to statistics and statistics to life." With lush, colorful spreads devoted to 50 feelings, 13 cities, 10 topics, 6 holidays,5 age groups, 4 weather conditions, and 2 genders, We Feel Fine explores our emotions from every angle, providing insights into and examples of each. Equal parts pop culture and psychology, computer science and conceptual art, sociology and storytelling, We Feel Fine is no ordinary book -- with thousands of authors from all over the world sharing their uncensored emotions, it is a radical experiment in mass authorship, merging the online and offline worlds to create an indispensable handbook for anyone interested in what it's like to be human.

buy a copy :)



http://wefeelfine.org

NOT TODAY

finally finished with american apparel. no longer will i wear spandex on a daily basis, deal with ridiculous bitches buying their sexy cat costumes, anything shiny in general, and big time losers who take their jobs way too seriously.

i will, on the other hand, miss all of the wonderful friends i've made there. i will miss punching out, punching in, making fun of jordan in general, dancing to single ladies and eating thai express almost every day. thanks a.a., but not today.

HALLOWEENIE

everyone knows that halloween is my favorite day of the entire year. even more so than my birthday! MY OWN BIRTHDAY. what used to be about plastic one-piece by-way costumes, candy collecting and making crafts at school has become obsessively planning original costume ideas, wandering the streets of toronto with a flask and making out with strangers dressed as freddy mercury. i will be one of those old ladies who still fucking obsesses over halloween until i'm too senile and decrepit to dress myself. i've had some pretty bang-out costumes, too. last year i went as the bride of frankenstein. the year before, a flapper. the year before and before that, fucking lydia deets from beetlejuice (which i think i'm going to bring back next year for the third time). i honestly wander the aisles of halloween costume shops looking for accessories because i would probably wear 20% of them in my every day life. really though, aside from the whole parties/dressing up thing, halloween to me is a day that celebrates all things scary, spooky and paranormal and fuck, i'm obsessed with that stuff. these are all the things that make my halloween experience complete.




1. PUMPKINS
you must've seen the photo i posted yesterday of the pumpkin i carved over the weekend; not only is it hilarious to have curse words glowing by candlelight, but it's an excellent evening with your friends. afterwards, save the seeds, season them and throw them in the oven and you have a nice crunchy little snack.

artist; hard at work.

2. WHEN OLD SHOWS AIR THEIR HALLOWEEN EPISODES
this is probably one of my favorite things about halloween. every big 80s/90s sitcom or cartoon shows had a halloween episode, it was just a television law. family matters, fresh prince of belair, roseanne, HAH- HOME IMPROVEMENT. teletoon starts airing the original beetlejuice cartoon, which was and will always be my favorite show of my childhood. but it's all about the simpson's treehouse of horror episodes. so classic!

take all you want, but... eat all you take.

3. ALL OF THE AMAZING CANDY GOODIES
not only are there so many more options for chocolate and candy at this time of year, but they come in mother fucking huge portions. or, for example, today i went into the laura secord in my mall for the first time ever today and bought a chocolate covered marshmallow witch. WHEN THE HELL ELSE WOULD I GET A CHOCOLATE WITCH. not to mention, a lot of baked goods made with pumpkin. or blood.

4. LAUGHING AT ALL THE GIRLS WHO USE HALLOWEEN AS AN EXCUSE TO BE A SLUT
working at american apparel for two halloweens has been good to me. i leave with a lot of great stories of stupidity and whoreishness. last year was brutal; everyone came in looking for black leggings and black body suits. "i'm gonna be cat woman". "i'm gonna be a cat". "i'm gonna be a slutty cat". this year it's "i'm gonna be lady ga-ga" when really they just want an excuse to buy a body suit. on the other hand, my friend trishelle is going as lady ga-ga but when she does it i know she's gonna really pull it off. but for fucks sakes. if i have to look at another overly-tanned, silicon-filled chest of some old bitch in a shiny halter body-suit one more fucking time i'm going to rip those tits right off. i'm usually in the fitting room area, so you would not believe some conversations girls, and YOUNG girls too, are having while finding costumes. "i wanna do this but... sluttier" is basically all i hear. and apparently thanks to the head cheese, mr. sexual assault himself, dov charney allows the dreams of so many hopeful young tramps-in-training to come true.

bitches, halloween is about dressing up and being outrageous, and even sometimes morbidly gross. not to be a pretty witty puddy tat. assholes.

5. GETTING REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR COSTUME
i'm one of those gals that when i'm going to be something for halloween, i go all fucking out. i either go all the way, or nothing at all. and i respect people who think the same way. way back, an old boyfriend of mine's mother was willing to dye her wedding dress red for my lydia costume; now, that's fucking halloween hardcore. last year i went as the bride of frankenstein, as mentioned before, and i had the wig, the white makeup covering my entire body, the huge white sheets badly sewn together; it was nuts! should've thought a little more about safety though, because dancing in a club with that outfit on was fucking hell. but this year, i attend on going as betty boop; a costume i've wanted to do for years now. i got the wig, forty fucking dollars later (BUT ITS WORTH IT) and got myself a little red dress, a garter belt, heels and a fur coat. it's going to be spectacular, and i think this is the first time i've gone as something somewhat sexy. oh no, am i turning into a halloween hussy!? also, a real golden rule for myself is to always have a dress rehearsal with the makeup, costume, props etc. just incase. see?


boo boo be doo

should be good. now i just need to go out and buy some goddamn spanx because from what i remember betty boop never had a beer gut.


6. THRILLER IS PLAYING EVERYWHERE ALL THE FUCKING TIME
good song, good video; as a matter of fact, up until a few years ago, i still had a hard time watching this video. what the fuck is it with these particular zombies, in a MUSIC VIDEO might i add, that creep me out so fucking much. i guess i'll never know. vincent price, too! i want that guy to rise from the dead, too. because the original is apparently too scary, i will give you the indian version instead. enjoy!


Indian Thriller - More free videos are here

and there are kabillions more. reading scary stories, people decorating their houses and dogs and cats wearing costumes. etc.
happy halloween everyone, saturday is going to be a fucking SHIT SHOW.

FEATURED DESIGNER

ELIZABETH ORTOLAN

toronto based artist/jewelry designer elizabeth ortolan is a young lady/entrepreneur who's keen eye for all things beautiful is helping her create some of the most charming wearable pieces that i've ever seen. having her been a dear friend of mine for nearly ten years, i've watched in awe as her impeccable style matured when it came to mixing and matching textiles, patterns, wood, metals and other materials together. chic, bohemian and delicate; elizabeth's taste when carefully picking and choosing her top-of-the-line beads, papers and chains blows me away. you can visit her personal blog, elizabeth rose jewelry, where she occasionally updates with photographs and information about her newly created goodies. contact her through her blog, and get your hands on a one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry from true torontonian talent.





http://elizabethrosejewelry.blogspot.com/

SPOOKTACULAR

halloween is my favorite day of the year. this weekend, i've been getting crazy-ass pumped for the best holiday ever by watching scary movies and carving pumpkins with my friends jen, paolo and ryan. here's my pumpkin:



i feel a heavy duty guide-to halloween entry coming up...

GUESS WHO'S BACK, BITCHES pt 2

so! hi, you. as you might recall, a few weeks ago my mac took a little tumble and the entire left side where the power chord plugs in was smashed inwards. it was working fine a few days afterwards, and i thought i had definitely lucked out. nope! eventually the power charger no longer charged, and once it ran out of battery, ziltch. took it into the apple store, said it would take over a week (and it did). went to pick it up, finally, on friday afternoon. THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY BIG ONES. pissed as i fucking was, i was just glad to have my mac back. took it home, opened it up and instantly clicked on safari; i hadn't checked my email in days. hm, that's funny... there's no internet. as a matter of fact, my mac was telling me that i don't have an airport wireless card installed in my computer. that's funny, i had one BEFORE I BROUGHT IT INTO THE APPLE STORE. after an hour of trying to get the internet working, i gave up. defeated. at least i have my music back, right? opened up itunes and cranked the volume on high; no sound. in fact, NO SOUND CARD INSTALLED. hmmm. that's odd. could've sworn that i could hear shit before I BROUGHT IT INTO. THE. APPLE. STORE.

are you kidding me? are you fucking kidding me. my amazing mother, on her birthday, brings my laptop into the apple store. they fixed it right then and there, and everything's working just fine. but jesus christ.

i have to go, dexter is on.

JOSH GOOT

i found this today and i just had to post about it. these are some photos from josh goot's london fashion week runway show and i was absolutely blown away. i've never seen graphic designs put onto clothing in such a fashion, and they really are complete works of art. i'd have to sell my first born for one of these outfits, so i'll just continue to dream.

ARTS AND CRAFTS!

a music video. completely made out of cardboard. amazing. the song isn't that great, but it's the first time my name (correctly spelled) has been in a song title. so i'll take what i get.

Meeting of Important People - Brittney Lane Don't Care from Authentik Artists on Vimeo.

DIGITAL

i found myself at the legendary horseshoe tavern last night to see the temper trap perform. i don't have much to say except that i really enjoy their album, you should listen to it, and i was very impressed by their live show.

my two-sentance review.

http://www.myspace.com/thetempertrap

since my mac has been in ye olde apple shoppe, i haven't had much else to do to bide my time except read and play guitar. i haven't picked up a guitar since i joined another season, my old band, around 3 and a half years ago... i became a synth player and had no time for guitar. i also haven't found the time to read, or even head to a book store. i went to hmv last week and picked up the book the beatles: the biography by bob spitz. it's been a good read so far; very detailed. i also managed to beat beatles rock band twice; both on medium and hard, and i'm almost completed beating the game on hard with the vocals, not just guitar.

as well, i have decided to terminate my working for american apparel recently; fuck it.

well! i have lots to talk about in the next update on shirk. keep your eyes open.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

hey fellow shirkers,

apologies for my lack of updates, for this is the second time in shirk history that the head boss (a.k.a. my mac) has decided to get up and leave me. it's currently hanging out in a shop; it would rather sit on a backstorage shelf than hang out with me. he'll come crawlin' back though, just watch. i know him.

see you soon,

love
brittney
shirk magazine

TONIGHT I'M GOING TO SUCK...

your blood.

today is canadian thanksgiving. as usual, i use wikipedia to explain:





yeah, the turkey, the pie, the wine and the guests are all fine and dandy. but i have a lot to be thankful for this year. i actually think this is, strangely, one of the first thanksgivings where it actually meant something. i'm so thankful for my parents, my brother, my kitties, my new house, the fact that i'm not some poor ass whore living in a ditch. i'm thankful for the place i live and the people who live here too. i'm thankful for art, music, creativity and having inspiration in my life. i'm thankful for my family, and everyone i see every day at work and elsewhere. i'm thankful for my closet full of clothes and shoes, my mac so that i can upkeep this blog and write write write; i'm thankful for being able to fucking write. i'm thankful that i have pretty much the most amazing friends in the entire world who, i know, love me just as much as i love them. i'm thankful that i'm a happy person. i'm thankful that i'm somewhat excited to get up in the morning. i'm thankful for the person i was, am, and will be. i'm thankful that, for some reason, i am a person who takes lemons and makes some fucking good lemonade with them when L I F E dishes them over. i'm thankful that i've made it this far. i'm thankful that i have my health, sanity and teeth. i'm thankful for every smart and stupid decision i've ever made, and i'm thankful that i still believe in true love.


happy thanksgiving everyone.

love,


shirk magazine

SHE WOLF ( AHOOO )

i'm always the girl all in black. from thursday's in crowd eve.

The In Crowd @ Tattoo Rock Parlour [08Oct09] - 01 from Al D on Vimeo.

POINTLESS

hey everybody, brittney writing you from the land of shirk. my, what a windy day today! i went out for a cigarette and nearly caught air. i've always dreamt of being able to fly, but today's just not the day.

i finally got the majority of my halloween costume in gear yesterday; i headed to malibar , only the best costume shop in toronto, and got myself a wig, a cigarette holder and a garter belt, for (ladies and gents) i'm going to be the best goddam betty boop you have ever fucking seen. i already tried the cigarette holder; it makes the cigarette taste like metal. we'll see how sick i get.

i'm in the mood for creativity, all things fall and spontaneity. i need to get into painting more, playing more music and putting more effort into everything in general. i'm also in the midst of deciding on who will be the featured music piece for the november issue of dead sexy magazine. any suggestions?

white night two thousand and nine

this year's nuit blanche was a shit show, and i mean that in the best terms. there were a lot of busts of exhibits that were totally over-hyped, but then there were a lot that really blew me away. what i've learned most about nuit blanche is not where you go, but who you're with and to learn to let the night lead you.



the evening started at gladstone hotel, where my group and i proceed to head east on queen st. we passed a lot of things, walked into a few galleries, and sampled some free apple cider. the crowds were larger, and a lot drunker than from what i remember last year. i had remembered that during nuit blanche 2008, there was a spooky exhibit going on at trinity bellwoods consisting of a woman dressed up as a ghost slowly wandering through out the park. i was hoping for something better. even though it wasn't scary, the gigantic version of a light bright made of plastic bottles was pretty sweet. there was a large crowd gathered around it, moving the bottles to try to create an image. the team work just wasn't working out, and whatever they were trying to do never happened. it was still a good try, though. GOOD EFFORT TEAM.









"we should steal this"




more along queen, we were looking for something to drink, and the bars were packed. instead, we head to the wine rack and bought a few large bottles of wine, some packs of smokes, and a little baggy of plastic cups. we found ourself a nice little bench and cracked that shit open. we were greeted by more friends, the wine was poured and the party began! after our wine, we continued to walk down queen west, were i stopped to say hello to the lovely lindsay and john of the in crowd djing at czehoski. our friend mark let us know of a secret loft party in the business district, so we began our quest for the hidden party. interesting place, expensive beer, but a nice view.
















kevin, joelle and i. peace.

ryan and jen

everyone's looking at the view; the cn tower. but jen says FUCK THAT.







at bay and queen, just a little south, the entire street was shut down for a gigantic slip n' slide and avalanche ride. the lights brightened the entire block and crowds and crowds of happy faces made me feel like i was in my own version of the elephant parade scene from eternal sunshine. we then walked down to union station to meet up with a few friends, and as we walked past the main entrance, the large crowds and gigantic red spot lights pulled us in. this is where i found my personal favorite exhibit of the evening. it was called 'Imminent Departures", where all of the lights were turned off except for a few spotlights. tons of fog machines were in every corner of the station, and speakers hanging from the ceiling all played different sounds of train engines, people saying goodbye and young girls singing songs. there was definitely a certain spookiness to it, but the look and feel of the piece had a very bitter sweetness to it as i heard hundreds of voices saying good bye.













we then exited the station, some shared a j, and we hopped in a cab back to queen west. as we got out at queen and dovercourt, i want you/she's so heavy by the beatles was BLASTING out of a corner building. the whole street were down on their kneeeees. after freaking some people out, yelling in douche bags faces, and enjoying myself way too much, we arrived back where we started; the gladstone. only, it was 4 am. the streets were even more full than they were when we started, and it's clear, the spirit of art, expression and just plain ol' having a great time lives strong within the city of toronto and it's citizens. fuck new years and halloween, nuit blanche is one of the best nights out toronto can offer. it's not even about the art itself, it's what crazy shit you'll find yourself getting into.

THE AWESOME BELL TOLLS

i found a bag of clothes in our storage room today that i completely forgot about while moving into the new place. i can't believe i was gonna throw these out; my bellbottoms from high-school! so comfy, so cool. no wonder i have a hard time letting go of my clothes.

DIS BE COLD OUTSIDE

i needed the thigh high socks. it's gettin' cold, it's gettin' wet, and my legs are oh so bare.


entire outfit: american apparel

song of the day

goods by mates of state

GOOD JOB SPORT. TOO BAD I'M LAUGHIN.

nice job blanco nino, but to bad your ass got saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacked.



http://www.laphotocabine.com/