Bulgarian moments of extreme chaos and extreme chill

Wow, where the hell have all the days gone? Let’s see, since I last posted Svetla and I had a wedding in an Orthodox church (quite obviously, pictured above) followed by an amazing party at a huge restaurant nestled in the forested foothills in the mountain range outside of Sofia and oh yes, it also doubled as an all-natural brewery! The wedding ceremony was quite intense yet somehow laid back at the same time. I was expecting one priest and got three, plus a full choir singing from some unseen…read more

Good news in Bulgaria and a christening

I’ve been in Europe for almost two weeks and have yet to find the right time to sit (with wireless) and write a post. Here it finally is (pictured above is me in front of the church I was christened in and me with the priest, my godmother Villy and Svetla’s sister Joanna, who translated the ceremony for me). First the good news: My SSHRC (Social Science and Humanities Research Council) Doctoral Fellowship has been upgraded to a SSHRC CGS Doctoral Award, which means an increase from $60,000 over three…read more

Indigenous culture and media arts in Kelowna

Posted by ezra in Dispatches

The last few days at the Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA) Conference and Festival in Kelowna have been amazing. Rob and I have met so many incredible artists and media arts people that I’m wondering how I could have been floating around in the media arts for so long without joining this national organization. This edition of the conference is featuring indigenous culture and panels have tackled everything from intellectual property with aboriginal knowledge to First Nations communities and connectivity (or lack of: in BC there are 119 out of…read more

Back from the dead and in BC

A lot has happened in the five or so weeks since my last post: I suffered an evil sinus infection that laid me out for about a month and reminded me of just how much Quebec’s health care is in the dumpster; I applied a third time to the Canada Council for the Arts for Cinema Politica (hoping the odds of being turned down three times in a row are, well too unlucky for even us); I wrote my end-of-first year comprehensive PhD exams; I found out I passed (wooohoooo!!);…read more

The Revolution Will Not Be Funded (But it will be fun)

I’m writing this from the bus to Ottawa, which left Montreal at 8 AM this morning. I’m on my way to Carleton for my PhD orientation. Can’t believe it was only a week or so ago that I was finishing my MA thesis…wow. In fact, just last Friday Svetla and I celebrated my handing in my final draft of my thesis to the Graduate office and Svetla mailing her 5 kilos of immigration documents. Last night we had two visitors arrive from my hometown, Courtenay: Jim and his daughter, Lisa….read more

Exhausted and Departing

A journalist for Uptown Magazine in Winnipeg interviewed me recently about our upcoming WAL-TOWN TOUR 2007 and asked me what we wanted to accomplish with this campaign and whether we are anti Wal-Mart. I answered: We are anti Wal-Mart. If Wal-Mart was a corporation that supported it’s employee’s rights to organize, if they were accountable to the citizens in the towns they move into instead of only to their shareholders, if they had progressive environmental policies that were sustainable, if they weren’t the largest retail force on the planet that…read more

Lame Recovery in Three Acts, Act One

Alas, dear vacuous mysterious void of cyberspace, I have been unfaithful to you – galavanting about with the likes of Cinema Politica, schoolwork, the Documentary Organization of Canada-Quebec, and scratching an already tired head for ideas for a PhD which looms nigh in the sky. The promised entry of “The Wedding,” shall only begin here, and end on other days whence these wretched self-made hallucinations of work and more work are abated. For now, there is the remnants of a beautiful trip to a certain Bulgaria to remember on these…read more

Teeny Update

Update on this here bloggo: I am back in Canada and busy as hell as it is September and Cinema Politica and school have started up in a big way. Therefore, I will be trying to post a new blog about once a week, and will most likely do it on weekends. I have one more travel dispatch from Bulgaria to write and post, involving a certain wedding that took place in Sofia, expect that on Saturday. Thanks for hanging in there…

Seaside Dreamland Part II

So, after some insane incidents (including Svetla not being allowed to leave Bulgaria with me last Thursday) I am back in Canada. As the work I have ahead of me presents itself in the form of nightmarish hallucinations of piles of paperwork, endless emails and swirling dollar signs connected to melting credit cards, I am comforted by the Bulgarian attitude: don’t stress, it’s not worth it. So alas, I must keep writing this here blog and not think of it as work, but perhaps an outlet for stress. Ah, I…read more

Seaside Dreamland Part I

Where to start? I have been without internet access now for almost a week, so apologies for the delay in this latest travel dispatch. After Svetla and I climbed back down the mountain we spent a couple of days in Sofia seeing some beautiful buildings, some dating back to the time of the Romans. Churches, Halls, Mausoleums, and other incredible sights are found all over this historical city. After some walking around and visiting with some of Svetla’s several hundred friends here, we packed our bags and climbed aboard a…read more