~*...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...*~

~*...familiarity in an unfamiliar town...*~

randnorm monday event in black rock city 2006

sangria sunrise 2006
5:30am-7:00am
enjoy spanish sangria on the playa as the sun rises! feel the deep warm embrace of love as we prepare ourselves for another amazing year filled with human creativity and potential. on the other hand, this could be hell in a hand basket and the sun that rises if really a burning ball of fire heading straight for earth...either way, let's drink together and reflect on how lucky we are to share this moment! hosted by: snow cone @ east side of the man on the playa at 5:30

flagellation photo by michael stewart

randnorm mind grenade
confidence is the sexiest thing a woman can have. it's much sexier than any body part. - aimee mullins

randnorm pikcha

photo of bianca beauchamp by ben bischop

randnorm video

the world is going to the dogs!

normdate 13.11.6

what an awesome weekend its been. on friday, my good friend graham came to town. i've been friends with graham since high school. funny thing is that my older brother neil was and still is good friends with graham's older brother brian. two generations of lim sangs, two generations of cairns' ;)

graham left toronto and moved to edmonton in july to pursue his plumber's apprenticeship. i've been missing my toronto family somethin fierce lately, so seeing graham was a breath of fresh air for me.



graham arrived with zack, a guy we both went to high school with that also lives in edmonton. seems like there is some opportunity in this here province, especially for professional tradesmen.

it had been so long since i shook my ass with graham, so we decided to hit up a club called hifi in downtown calgary. my boy pete emes is one of the owners of the club, and part of a dj krew called the small town djs. i went to university with pete.


pete and i at the shot nightclub, london, ontario.

i ran into pete at the shout out out out out concert last month. i hadn't seen him since university. i also didn't have a camera :(

pete was out of town touring with the small town djs...he was actualy in toronto.

flashlight fridays at hifi is deep funk and groove, and the beatz were soulful and drrrty. graham can really cut a rug, and it was awesome to be shakin my ass with him. the club was packed and smoky...man, i can't believe people are still allowed to smoke inside clubs here.

the vibe was a unique mix of ravers, club kids, and snooty city folk.

"are you from toronto? oh, well you sure act like you are."

i ran into a cutie that i had met here in calgary when i was passing through in june. she was working a jewelery booth in downtown calgary. i purchased a kewl bracelet that attached to a ring from her. the ring didn't last too long, but at least the impression i made on her did. she said she'd seen me around town, but felt kinda weird saying "hey, do you remember me, i was the girl at the jewlery booth..." good thing i said hi to her. yay calgary cuties!



when we left the club, graham was literally steaming in the calgary cold. dude had not only worked up a sweat, but was radiating maad heat! it was awesome to dance with you again graham. i've missed you, brother. being around a good friend was exactly what i needed.

on saturday, graham and i drove zack to his uncle's ranch in the turner valley, about 90mins south of calgary. and home of the first oilfield in alberta. it made sense that zack's uncle owns an oil and energy company, west energy...he also owns 3000 acres of land!

we made a quick stop in the town of okotoks to grab a coffee from the biggest drug dealer in canada...tim hortons! people are so addikted to timmy's that there was a lineup of cars that went beyond the parking lot, down the street, and to the stop light. all this for a cup of tim hortons coffee. even worse is that the lineup of cars wwere just sitting there, idling. our example of turning off our engine while we waited wasn't really catchin' on.





you know the stereotypes of redneck cowboys that alberta has? well, okotoks is one of the reasons why that stereotype exists: real genuine cowboys, good 'ol ford pickup trucks, and tim hortons coffee! yeehaw! did i mention i was the only coloured guy in tim hortons, and perhaps all of okotoks? ;)



its hard to describe to white people what it feels like to be a minority. even though no one is saying anything, i can feel stares, thoughts, and judgements. the challenge is to not let those outside influences affect how i act, but is that really possible? if we are products of our environment, then the thoughts, prejudices, and the judgement of others contribute to who we choose to be at that moment. it more challenging to be comfortable in your own skin when ignorance and fear is being channeled towards you.

i've never eaten chester fried chicken before, but i'm sure its moist! *lol*


we arrived at the high noon ranch, a breathtaking expanse of rolling rockie foothills, trees, cows, horses, and divine creation as far as you can see.

with the rockies towering in the distance, how can anyone say that god does not exist when you are surrounded by such incredible natural beauty?



needless to say, the ranch was huge! lots of small wood cabins were sprinkled across the rolling hills of the high noon ranch.






i met zack's aunt liz at the ranch. she married zack's uncle. the vibe i got from her when i was introduced was difficult for me to describe. she made me understand the reason why they have a policy at ski resorts of no long hair or dreadlocks...its so that rich white people don't get their worlds shaken up. graham on the other hand thought something different when observing her reaction to probably the first jamasian dredi she's ever met...he thought that she was enamoured by me. i kinda liked that perspektive over the rich snooty white lady image that i thought...more like the image i projected onto her. products of our environment? product of other people's thoughts and prejudgements? it seems i'm just as guilty.



graham and i left zack at the ranch and began our journey back to calgary. i've got a little collektion of custom license plate pikhcaz and was super stoked to see this one...


ha! what kind of holy man drives a freakin hummer? love it!

we grabbed some take out chinese food and enjoyed an awesome meal with kristin at home. our after dinner cocktail included some johnnie walker red and forty creek whiskey, a very smooth canadian whiskey from grimsby, ontario. i love graham and his knowledge of boozeahol. he opens my eyes to new flavours. i'm not a picky drinker, so i give thanks and praises for anything i am blessed with. some people are a bit more particular about what they put in their mouth ;)

we decided to stay in and watch the movie thank you for smoking. this genius films follows the life of a big tobacco lobbyist.


this movie was so awesome! highly recommended by this dredi.

kelsey joined graham, kristin and i yesterday for brunch at the lido cafe in kensington. its good to have another torontonian with me so we can be snooty and claim that there really is only one kensington ;)

after brunch, we left the girls to their sunday afternoon shopping extravaganza and headed to a town called millarville, just outside of the turner valley, to pick up zack. it gave graham and i some more quality time together, and it was good for my soul. i'm happy to know that a good friend lives only a few hours away...even better to know that he was sitting beside me.

it was my friend kate's birthday on saturday, so a good krew of our friends had gathered saturday night in toronto to celebrate. happy birthday sk8! here is a birthday ambigram for you.



its funny that both graham and zack know me as leighton as well as norm. old skewl baby! i also happen to have an art center, gallery, and museum in the foothills ;)




graham dropped me off back in calgary on his way home to edmonton. thank you so much graham for making the journey to calgary to see me. it was so good to see you, to spend time with you, be silly with you, dance with you, and be reminded that i am blessed to call you my friend. next time i'll come up to edmonton to party with you.



kristin and kelsey arrived home shortly after i did, and they had a little wine buzz goin on. they also had a magnum of white wine with them to keep the buzz goin ;) these girls are a lot of fun when they're drunk, and they're quite loud too. punk music was blaring as they polished off their sauvignon blanc.

with kelsey drunk, it made it a bit easier to convince her to join kristin and i at the calgary kinky party. yes, calgary has a kink kommunity and i was excited to see how albertans embrace their kink. thanks to captain q and kane for lettin us know about the event...yay calgary burners!



yay dress up!


george stromboulopolous's the hour is on right meow, and he has just listed the top 5 movies you should not watch when you're high

5. fear and loathing in las vegas
4. march of the penguins
3. natural born killers
2. meet the feebles
1. memento

that list is better enjoyed while high. i wish i had a joint ;)

it was fun getting kristin and kelsey dressed up for their first kink event. they looked fukkin hawt!



i tried rawkin the double dreadhawk, but it didn't really stick straight up and out like i had imagined. oh well, now i know.



its so fun to embrace different parts of your personality and have fun with it. i was glad to see kelsey and kristin embrace something new.




hooray cosplay!


shmammered, loud, and rowdy, i took the keys to the car and let kristin and kelsey enjoy their drunken altered state. our first stop was the home of captain q, a colourful burner and kinky cutie. her place was so cute, and decorated so wonderfully. she had a wall covered in butterflies that were made out of her old bank and credit cards. she would cut the cards in half, corner to corner, and use a pipe cleaner in the middle and a tack to attach it to the wall. very creative. her bathroom was red and black (hooray) with a fire flame shower curtain and a full devil pitchfork toilet bowl cleaner. this girl is all kinds of awesome.

the kinky party was held at the amsterdam rhino in downtown calgary. there was a rack and a stand up cross rack downstairs for play, but that was pretty much it. as with most fetish parties, most people just dress up and dance, while a select few actually play. i was just happy to be back into a familiar environment that i had missed since leaving toronto. a diverse group of people embracing their kink without fear. this town continues to impress me. there are new and different kinds of communities expanding in every direction here in this town....i'm glad to be a part of it.

one thing that was different about this party was the use of cameras. there were more than a few people snapping pikchaz all night, including photography of scenes. i guess the people involved didn't mind, but the truth is always distorted byt he presence of a camera. it creates a wall that often prevents people from feeling comfortable exploring, for fear of being caught on camera. i'm not used to being at kink events that allow cameras, despite me being a pikcha whore.

there were a couple stage shows, i watched a hawt boy get surface piercing on his chest and then have ribbon wrapped through them to create a surface corset *hawt* i spent most of my time watching, observing, getting the lay of the land here. i am new to this town, so its good to understand how this community operates before diving straight in. kristin and kelsey had a great time, though i do not think kelsey will come to another one of these events. who knows.

either way, it was good to see that this town is not as conservative as i thought, and i was glad to spend a weekend in familiar environments.

love and blessings

~*...normaste...*~