My Toronto Ignite Talk

Last week I put all my courage in a bundle and took it on stage to quickly and – luckily, – entertainingly to tell about my passion for art, especially the conceptual variety. My previous Ignite post addresses the issue of nervousness as well as general fears of a first time speaker.

It went well I think. Aside from me looking and acting like a squirrel on crack (I was nervous after all!), I did well. Didn’t mess up my lines and communicated the point in a comprehensible fashion! I hope you all are now inspired and spending more time with Sol LeWitt and Joseph Kosuth in galleries of your cities.

PS. Stay tuned for my Slow Art Toronto 2009 post. If you enjoyed this talk, and love art, then you should really pay attention to what I’m going to write and curate for Slow Art Toronto.

Filed under: art , achievement, art, ignite, learning, oreilly, toronto, video

Best Meal I’ve Made to Date

Or so I and my dinner companion think. I wasn’t afraid to experiment with octopi and peppers. Let’s discuss.

First Course: Basil Grape Tomatoes with Buffalo Mozzarella

I diced white onion and went on to sautée; we needed caramelized onions. I cut grape tomatoes in half, leaving the tiniest ones whole so they burst in your mouth at a later time. Throw in said tomatoes after the onions turn golden and shake the pan a little. Roll large basil leaves and cut them vertically, dispersing over tomatoes and onions as you turn the heat off. Mix them up a little, let them sit, add some pepper. Bring out the highest grade buffalo mozzarella (splurge, it’s worth it!), and slice it up on break it over the tomato mixture. Enjoy! Enjoy it!

Second Course: Boiled Octopus in a Spicy Sauce and Basil Fingerling Potatoes

This actually starts at the very beginning of your cooking ritual – pour a can of chicken broth in a pan, and put twice as much water, start heating it. Chop up almost a whole bunch of cilantro, dice 3/4 of a white onion (large chunks are all right), and put all of that in. Next, I leaped into the unknown by slicing a small red pepper and throwing that in. I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s a tiny light red pepper, just a bit more wrinkly than the usual capsicum, and it’s spicy. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat.

Cut up Mr. Octopus and throw it in. Cutting it is tough, let me tell ya. But persevere. Throw it in the broth and let it simmer for at least 1.5 hours. I took it out at 2 hours and 15 minutes. In the course of this octopus bath you will need to add more water as it will evaporate – I added 4-5 cups extra, and I’m glad I did because that little red pepper set the whole pot on fire (not literally).

In the meantime boil fingerling potatoes (bigger ones sliced in half), and then bronze them in a pan with diced garlic and extra virgin olive oil and a dash of truffle oil. Add basil leaves for extra fragrance. Take out the plate and arrange like in the photo above or better! And enjoy it. Then live to tell the tale

PS. The octopus broth was too good to let go down the drain so I’ve used it to boil wild rice the next day. Guess how awesome my lunch is today

PPS. If anybody wants to hire me for cooking services, or for looking cute while cooking services, or eating and telling the tale services, I’m widely available and most likely ready to hear your ideas

Filed under: Food , achievement, dinner, food, improvements, kitchen, meal, recipe, recommendation, review

Tetro

I still have the images from this film in mind. What an excellent work of art. It’s Francis Ford Coppola’s first original screenplay since The Conversation. It is  a beautifully told story of the two brothers and the unveiling of the family secrets. The writing is absolutely fantastic, complemented by outstanding performances of Vincent Gallo and Alden Ehrenreich. Maribel Verdú (from Y Tu Mama Tambien) as the wife of Tetro (Vincent Gallo) does an amazing job, too.

I have never seen Vincent Gallo on screen before, and this film has put him into my favorite actors pool. He’s absolutely mesmerizing, the writer on a perpetual writing sabbatical, a not quite failed genius. And his eyes transmit a lot of emotion. The part where he stares at the blinding peaks of Patagonian mountains carry all the emotion of the subsequent ballet scene (which is also five stars).

Speaking of the ballet – Francis Ford Coppola created some of the most amazing dance scenes in this film. Some of them filled my eyes with tears. Apparently many of them have been shot in the studio only to be decorated with memorable and beautiful backgrounds in post-production. The whole film is actually in black and white – the present is in black & white, whereas flashbacks and scenes from memories are in color. In other words, for Tetro, the present is pretty bleak and not as vivid as the shaky past. I was wondering why the choice of black and white, until I hit the mid-peak of the film. My oh my.

I recommend this movie. It is now in my top 10 favorite movies of all time, filled with fully developed characters that undergo shocking changes as the story unveils. I’m still in a mild coma, and a sea of emotions that I can explain, but won’t. I don’t think it’ll be a stretch to say that Oscar nominations are due, but who knows. Go and watch it. Here’s the trailer:

Filed under: Great Times , achievement, beauty, excitement, film, gallo, genius, movies, review

Toronto Ignite

So I wanted to tell you that I’ll be speaking at Ignite Toronto on August 25, 2009 at the Drake Underground. Michele Perras asked me to participate, and since I’m a Yes woman, I went for it.

Now, if you’re not familiar with Ignite, you should know that these talks happen globally. Speakers go on stage in front of hundreds of people and tell a story in 5 minutes and 20 slides that auto-rotate every 15 seconds. That’s some pressure. O’Reilly Media is behind all this, and I should say that I’m really excited to participate.

Now, I’m nervous. I’m hella nervous – I haven’t really done any public speaking before, and although I’m quite outspoken and have no problem presenting in front of a class (given that I prepared, of course), this is going to be a lukewarm shower welcome into the world of speaking on stage. I’ve got a couple of strategies I want to test out, and – wow, – even a couple of jokes. If all else fails, my slides speak for themselves, I just need to do a jig.

Oh yes, I am speaking about art, one of my most favorite topics. I had to do a bit of reviewing and lecture notes-digging before compiling the presentation to assemble crisp and easy-to-grasp points down. After all, it’s more important to drive home key points instead of trying to explain everything. Conceptual art does not necessarily come in 5 minutes, but I will try to spread the love anyway.

The event is at the Drake Hotel, and unfortunately for my friends who haven’t RSVPed, it’s sold out. But perhaps I can bum a video off organizers.

Filed under: moving up , achievement, art, development, event, learning, toronto

End of Semester Musings

The semester ended on a very positive note. In fact, the last 4 months were the most productive in 2008, most positive and great – except for the strip between mid-Nov to mid-Dec: never again. I established relationships with my professors (3 out of 8 all time favorites are from this term), finally figured out what shape my career should take – accounts in the advertising business or strategic planning, particularly for creative ventures. God knows creative folk need help with directions (love y’all). Last semester was actually the best semester one, school-wise and life-wise. Marks were: A+, A, A- and B. Pretty satisfying, considering I didn’t study for the Int’l Mkt final, and got a B, and I pulled myself out of the B zone in Ethics in Finance. In fact, that class was one of the best ones I took, thanks to the amazing prof Allen Goss.

I leveled out and gained some perspective; I don’t take no for an answer and don’t feel lost at all. I’ve thrown out skeletons out of my closet and become more honest than ever before. I stopped wondering what this person’s and that person’s opinion of me would be if I did this and that. I am my own kind of person, I’ve done my inventory, and I patiently wait to break bread with my nearest and dearest (R, W, H, B, T, R, P, M, R in particular!).

I’m ready to hit the ground running and I cannot wait for the next year to start. Two thousand and hate is over, that ridiculous, cleansing, all-encompassing year, and now it’s time to conquer the next one. All my dreams will come true, and there is not a single thing I won’t be able to claim as my own. Look out, two thousand and mine! Sneak peek:2010 is to explode, considering it’s the year of the Tiger. And guess who’s the tiger here.

Filed under: memories , 2008, 2009, achievement, friends, improvements, plans, productivity, results, ryerson, toronto, university

High Achievements & Still Highs

Ibiza, Aug 2008. Rocking out with my socks out...

…on life Been hustlin’ and hustlin’ and hustlin’.

When I was at BBDO on Monday, the HR lady practically interviewed me right there and then. One of the many questions she asked me, “What was your greatest achievement?” Or the achievement I was most proud about. Historically, my victories have all been academic, as I haven’t actually embarked on that up-the-ladder journey (I’ll more likely be hopping up two or three ladders simultaneously) yet.

So, an achievement that I am most proud of so far is the one relating to me having gone from a B/B- GPA at the University of British Columbia (my finance dark days) to an A average, which then led to a Golden Key Society Membership. I have always been a straight A student, but some things happened at the university level and I had a lot of ground to cover to reach a Golden Key level. And I did.

Another achievement that I always think about took place in 1997 when my family just moved back to Russia (Magadan city) from Czech Republic (Prague). I was 11 and I forgot Russian at that point. But I quickly got it back. I was placed in grade 3, and our homeroom teacher presented us with a mathematical problem from the grade 6 curriculum. I did not have the math backing to solve the problem, but since all 40 of us 11 year olds had to present some kind of a solution to our teacher, I struggled. I struggled for 48 hours and couldn’t figure it out. I couldn’t figure it out until 2 hours before the class, when a strike of genius commanded my hand to write some grade 6 math gibberish (grade 8 by Western standards), and et voila – the satisfied and respectful face of my teacher always appears in my head when I do something amazing.

Filed under: memories , achievement, bbdo, career, development, future, improvements, marketing, memories, monday, productivity, work