Sunday, November 19, 2006

~*...cads, dorkz, and skidz...*~

randnorm sunday event in black rock city 2006

chopin's nocturnes
2:00pm-3:00pm
silence, lay down, listen.
hosted by: ascension tribe @ esplanade and 4:30


photo of dance dance immolation by kristen ankiewicz
Dance Dance Immolation is an adaptation of the popular arcade video game Dance Dance Revolution, but with fire! Basically, you play DDR; when you do well, the computer shoots big propane blasts up into the air. When you do poorly, it shoots you in the face with flamethrowers. Yes, you, as in your actual corporeal body. And yes, flamethrowers, like the kind that are on fire.

randnorm mind grenade
i don't care what they say about me, just make sure they spell my name right! - p.t. barnum

randnorm pikcha

normurai ambigram attempt#1

randnorm video

japanese ski resort prank...too fukkin funny

normdate 19.11.6


on wednesday night i went to canada olympic park (c.o.p.) for the first in class training session for the canadian association of disabled skiing (cads). kristin's step mom, linda, encouraged me to volunteer to teach snowboarding to disabled youth on friday nights at c.o.p.



i will be paired up with one student and most likely assist an already experienced instructor. the students are developmentally delayed, deaf, visually impaired, three and four track, multi-disability, and learning disabled. i've always wanted to learn sign language, and am super stoked to combine that with snowboarding. one of the training exercises for teaching the visually impaired will be to ride with tape over our goggles to give us an appreciation of what its like to ride blind. i'm glad that i will get some teaching practice in and i don't have to cut my dreadlocks \m/^_^\m/

they add a chemical called snowmax to the man made snow at c.o.p. that helps prevent it from melting and allows them to make snow at warmer temperatures. i was stoked to see snow on the hill wednesday night.



i was even more frustrated to look at the snow and not be able to ride it :( we don't do on hill training until next weekend. i'm excited to learn new teaching techniques, and to get in some turns so early in the season. i've never strapped into my board for turns earlier than december in ontario.

on friday morning, after dropping kristin off at the ctrain station, i made a quick stop by the northland mall where i work. i had seen people lining up outside of the best buy the night before and wondered what they were waiting for.

it was a lineup of geeks camping out to ensure that they get to purchase a ps3 first thing friday morning. i didn't have my camera on thursday night, so i made sure i brought one with me friday morning. i don't know what's geekier, the fact that these guys camped out to buy a ps3 or the fact that i made an effort to drive and take pikchaz of them.



best buy had the right idea...give out numbers instead of wait until they open the doors and have people rush in.




this dorktron bought the last ps3 at future shop


and even though there were no more ps3 consoles available, these people still waited in line outside of future shop.

maybe they wanted jobs ;)

kristin was gettin her hair touched up at the hairdresser, so i picked her up downtown after work and we began our trek to lethbridge, home of the longest tallest train track bridge...not the longest in the world, not the tallest in the world, but the longest tallest ;) kristin grew up in lethbridge, and one of her friends, jessie, was putting on a monthly jungle event there. our friend phat pat was also playing there, so we were excited to hear him play too.

lethbridge was only a 2hr drive south of calgary. we were staying at the home of one of kristin's high school friends, nolan. kristin was so happy to see him...she hasn't seen him in over two years. watching them reconnect reminded me of seeing graham last weekend. there's nothing like looking at your own history in the faces of your friends.



after a quick stop at the boozeahol store, we grabbed kristin and nolan's friend muk and returned to nolan's place to start drinkin.


i was diggin the asian theme of nolan's place.


does anyone know what this says?


reinventing existing outfits with hats and accessories


kristin rawkin nolan's welding mask.


the jungle night was held at a club called the tongue and groove in the china town area of lethbridge. even in this town there is a china town. no matter where in the world you go there are going to be chinese people, cause everyone love chicken ball ;)

we were told that the entrance was in the back and super sketchy. this entrance was in the back, and it was beyond sketchy.



lucky for us we were mistaken, and found the correct way into the basement of the club next door. at least there was some interesting artwork on the wall.





the club was dark and cold. it felt kinda like a cave, reminding me of daze or should i say ravez of old in london, ontario at the base.


heinekens at the tongue and groove were only $4! i couldn't even buy heinekens that cheap in amsterdam!

jessie dropped some siiick jungle beatz


as per the norm, this mc wasn't that good and didn't know when to shut up


kelsey, kristin, and phat pat...c-spot reprazent!


cute quebecois grrlz in lethbridge...hooray!


phat pat took the decks and killed it! i really love the beatz pat plays...raw, bass driven, jungle beatz. who'd a thunk that there was a jungle scene in lethbridge?


unfortunately, we had to leave half way through pat's set to meet up with nolan and krew at the duke of wellington, affectionately known as simply the duke.

hailing a cab in lethbridge is a bit more difficult than hailing one in the city. i was unsuccessful at it, but according to kristin its because i'm a black man trying to hail a cab in a white town :p so i let her take care of it, and it didn't take her long.

the duke was everything you think a pub in lethbridge would be like. i was telling kristin that being a university town there would have to be at least one black guy who lives here. she said not a chance, but soon ate her words as we saw a black guy as soon as we entered the bar. in my drunken state, i pointed and screamed "look, a black guy! i knew there had to be one!" the brother laughed with me as we knocked fists.

he was the only black guy in the bar, next to me...and i'm only part black. the rest of the bar was pretty much full of skids. you know the image calgary used to have, redneck skids in cowboy hats? well, lethbridge is full of them, and they like to drink at the duke. what the hell is a skid anyways?

wikipedia: A Skid can also be a term used to refer to gangs of disenfranchised, delinquent youth, often blue-collar, who live in middle class suburbs and linger on the fringe of society. The original skids were from the West End in Long Beach, New York.

a skid is someone who says "fukkin rights" and "daam rights" often...and i heard it said a lot at this bar. is skid a derogatory term? i guess so eh? kinda like callin someone a redneck. but these peeps embraced their skid, regardless of what i thought of them. which was kewl, cause the feelin was mutual. i defintely didn't see any dreads wearing fuzzy kangols at the bar ;) dredi, skid, white, black, just shut up and drink eh?



fukkin rights!


kristin reunitied with many of her old high school friends at the duke. i knew these guys were important to her cause she left a bumpin club playing jungle to come see them.



after the duke, we stopped at another bar just around the corner...that bar was even more skid row than the duke.

and what skid night would be complete without a drunken bar fight outside? yessir, it was some good drunken times in lethbridge partyin on skid row. yeehaw!



i woke up hung over yesterday and feelin like a bag of shit...par for the course after a friday night in lethbridge.

kristin and i went to visit her grandparents in an old folks home in coaldale, 10mins outside of lethbridge. there is such an unfamiliar feelin and energy in these homes. as kristin's grandpa said, "i'm just here waiting to die" :( he is 90 years old and his strength comes from the woman who is still by his side.



it was awesome to listen to his stories about russia, and coming to canada. he reminded us how blessed we are to live in this beautiful and free country.

this is where kristin used to live.


more reconnekting with old friends in lethbridge. kristin and her friend nick.


nick rockin out on a gibson byrdland, brainchild of nashville session cats billy byrd and hank garland.


same guitar, different musician.

~*...normaste...*~