kevindupuis3000

[kevindupuis3000]

I think I am in love with everything in this video clip.

[kevindupuis3000]

I’m super excited for my kids who will be doing their year end show tonight in Vancouver.  Throughout this program, it has been great to see some of them grow into their own, and in the second part of the year, some of them really surprised me with how committed they could be.  I love it when you make these negative assumptions about certain people and they end up proving me wrong.  It’s humbling for me and more importantly, who doesn’t like seeing someone succeed after all?

[kevindupuis3000]

I had this dream.

I had this dream.

My mom was sitting at the kitchen table, except instead of the kitchen it was one of those simple little convention halls you can use to hold any event.  She was at the table reading the newspaper with tears streaming down her cheeks.  She was reading her own obituary that said that she had died on the Wednesday.  “But what if I don’t want to go on that day?  What if it’s a Thursday?”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I haven’t sent in the obituary to the papers yet.” This struck me as odd.

I then woke up.  And my first thought was that she should not have been able to read her own obituary if I hadn’t sent it in.  My second thought was remembering that she was no longer alive.  She had died on the Friday before Mother’s Day.

Miss you mom.

[kevindupuis3000]

We would hasten to add, before our Twitter feed is turned into a hellish garbage dump for the worst discussion ever conducted on the internet, that these women driven from their homes, these journalists targeted by hate campaigns, and these websites financially punished for their dissent are all unfortunate victims of a few fringe individuals within Gamergate. That these are the movement’s only tangible achievements so far does not change the fact that this is, at its core, a concerned community dedicated to having a reasonable discussion about ethics in journalism.

- I was trying to describe to someone what "Gamergate" is, and they could not believe that there were people that dedicated to harassing women. I couldn't explain it because I don't understand it either.

[kevindupuis3000]

Honest words.  I feel that we have seen so many cases of innocent black people being blatantly murdered without justice just over the last two years alone that I'm losing count.  How can a system like this be sustainable?

there is really nothing i can do except stay angry until this country decides that my life matters or until i die. whatever comes first. and we all know what will come first. 

[kevindupuis3000]

My juicing fast in three acts

(All scenes to take place in 1’s apartment.  All dialogue is half-assed british accents to accentuated the half-assed olde english.) SCENE ONE (Enter 1 and 2, holding a food processor) 1:  I say, I am so glad that we have purchased this food processor.  I henceworth name it Sir Percevick Thoroughbred, a man’s man’s kitchen utensil. 2: Oh, 2, your navigation about the kitchen is both sensitive and manly. 1: I daresay I do feel manly. 2: Yes, manly indeed. 1: Hmmm, yes. 2: Let us engage in other manly deeds. 1: Such as watch a movie about juicing? 2: Ooo so manly. (1 and 2 watch the movie “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead”.) 2: This was marvelous!  I propose that we engage in our own juicing ‘fast’. 1: That was a rather manly suggestion.  I agree!  Let us purchase a juicer and begin our own 5-day juicing fast! (Enter the Juicer) Juicer:  Greetings!  I am the least expensive juicer you can purchase that will also extract some modicum of juice from your fruits, vegetables, and wo, even nuts!  I am Bre-Ville! 1 and 2: Bre-Ville! Huzzah! (Enter and exit a parade of fruits and vegetables.  The sweet potato remains on stage, looking ominous) Juicer: As part of your fast, you will enjoy five juices a day plus a coconut water for a morning snack.  Each juice batch will take approximately 30 minutes to prepare. You will need a ridiculous amount of vegetables in stock.  For instance, you will each consume approximately 2 bags of kale each day.  Your grocery bill for three days will be $200. 1 and 2: Bre-Ville! SCENE TWO (1 and 2 prepare a juice.  The words “Day 1” flash in the background.  The sweet potato stands in the background, still looking ominous) 1: To our first juice. 2: My, it is very green.  I am weary of very green juices.  They tend to taste like wheatgrass. 1:Pip-pip, on the three.  One, two, three. (1 and 2 drink their juices) 1: Mmmm, it tastes pretty good, mostly like apples. 2: Yes, I see many apples in our future. 1: The manliest of fruits. 2: Hmmm, yes, I agree. 1: Manly. 2:  I feel fantastic, and motivated. 1: Agreed.  To Bre-Ville! (The words flash “Day 2”.  1 collapses, 2 runs briefly off stage and returns) 1: Uhg, I feel awful.  No more! 2: Carry on, 1!  Else we must begin again! (1 rises) 1: Where were you in my hour of need? 2: I was in the bathroom. 1: Again? 2: Yes.  My determination is strong.  As are the demands on my bladder.  To Bre-Ville! 1: Bre-Ville! 2: Now, we must make haste to the theatre.  There is not much time for dinner. 1: Oh wo, our dignity must suffer as we indulge in “chugging our juice”.  What performance could be of such importance to give us such forlorn-ance? 2: The Muppets Movie. (1 and 2 chug two full glasses of green juice) Juicer (offstage, I guess): Beware!  Chugging juice will lead to nausea most foul! (1 and 2 collapse) (The words flash “Day 3”. 1 rises) 1: Amazing, I awake refreshed each morning.  The juicing must work!  That or the fact that we are so tired by the end of the day that we are dead asleep by 8. 2: Uhg!  I feel awful. 1: Prevail, 2!  We are nearly half-way to victory! (The words flash “Day 4”.  2 rises.  The sweet potato steps forward) Sweet potato: Drink upon my juices and despair. (1 and 2 collapse.  Exit sweet potato) (And some other stuff happened but it was all kind of a blur) (End Scene 2) (Scene 3) (The words flash “Day 5”.  1 and 2 rise.) 2:  The final day, let us enjoy our final juice! 1: Nay, I am sick of this filth.  While the juices were delicious just one day ago, the knowledge that delicious, solid Thai food is just mere hours away makes me stare at this concoction with disgust. 2: Hold fast! (2 picks up a suitcase and begins to exit stage) 1: Where are you off to? 2: I travel to Whistler!  I maybe should have foreshadowed that or something earlier on, but oh well. (2 exits) 1: Oh, Bre-Ville!  What misery have you given us?  What carnage?  I see mounds of pulp, leftovers from the juicing.  The volume of wasted food is atrocious!  I cast ye into exile.  Away, Bre-Ville! (Enter Juicer) Juicer: Beware, man.  Your stomach has shrunken over the last five days such that you will not have space to complete a single meal!  Then you will cry for my return. (Exit Juicer) 1: (sobbing) Bre-Ville!  I am still manly! (curtain falls)       

[kevindupuis3000]

Hello? Where have you been?

You guys!  There's been so many things that have been happening these last few months.  For instance:

I went to Dubai!  Dubai sounds like one of the least interesting countries to go to in the Middle East because it is essentially only 65 years old and is only significant in that it has gobs of liquid cash.  But it is also one of the safest places to go to out there and the beaches are so beautiful.  Also you can eat huge loaves of Afghani bread (taste like pancakes) and samosas filled with fried onion.

I stayed at the Fairmont Hotel in Whistler!  For a conference.  Holy shit guys, this is the best Fairmont I've ever seen, and the best hotel I've ever stayed at.  It had four huge hot tubs, three of which were outdoors.  That's one more than I actually need!  Plus it was right besides the chair lift to Black comb, which was still open in early May.  Speaking of which.

I got through some terrain parks at Whistler!  The jumps are crazy huge and this was my first time trying to session those slick white boxes.  It actually turned out really well, so I can't wait to try it some more next winter.

I went to Florida!  I get owned on crazy rides, and Universal Studios has them in spades.  But by the time we made it to Disney Land's Space Mountain, I felt like king of the world.

I got engaged!  No matter how ready you are, your heart will be running a hundred beats per minute when the time comes.  That's just a fact.

I'm dancing in a show!  At the Norman Rothstein.  We performed tonight and will do so again tomorrow.  We were learning new choreo 20 minutes before the show started, and never got a chance to even space it out all together on stage, so it was pretty rough.  But man I love being on stage.

I presented to the City of Parksville and Nanaimo.  I don't know why, but I was more nervous presenting to a dozen people and two mayors than I've been when presenting to a hundred non-political people.

I bought a ghetto bike!  New respect for people who bike in North Van all the time with all its hills.  My legs and my butt take turns being sore for the day.

I'll try to write about some of these things in detail, at least little anecdotes, but for now let's mention the book the Kite Runner.  When reading it, one that thing that struck me was that whenever something joyful happened in the protagonist's life, it was always accompanied by some tragedy, so the joy was always bittersweet.  I'm encountering that right now.  My mom has been diagnosed with a brain tumour.  I don't have the mental faculties just yet to describe how quickly our lives have changed with its development or how it has impacted us emotionally.  She's in the hospital tonight and I can't even finish these sentences.

Joy can be bittersweet.  But life is beautiful.

[kevindupuis3000]

I assume when 5 girls link arms and cover Granville St. sidewalk that they want to play red rover so don't act all shocked wen I break a link and take a player

- Carlo Atienza

[kevindupuis3000]

Old movie reviews I found in my email. Did I post this earlier? I hope not.

I’ve seen a few movies recently – the joys of travelling and having one of the City’s last remaining movie rental stores nearby – and I thought I would share my thoughts:

Immortals: This is a brilliant movie, and by “brilliant” I mean “let’s take the movie 300 and get rid of that whole ‘writing a story’ bit”.  I sometimes felt like I was watching an old comedy movie that tried but just wasn’t very funny.  However, it did serve very well as an educational video.  Here is what I learned:

If you want to be evil, make sure that you can explain why you’re evil in a short, concise sentence that doesn’t make any sense.  (Suggested example: “My parents bought me generic “Slam’n Jam” shoes instead of Nikes when I was kid, thus I must build the largest robot and sink Hawai.”)

 As you introduce yourself to new people, make sure to incorporate this motive early on into the conversation.  (Suggested example: “These cheese puffs are delicious!  Know what else is delicious? My parents bought me generic “Slam’n Jam” shoes instead of Nikes when I was a kid, thus I must build the largest robot and sink Hawai.”)  Adding your motive to your business card is considered cheating, but may help.

While you’re at it, make sure you are constantly eating messy, juicy foods. Juicy slobber = SUPER evil.

Apparently the term “Titan” does not mean “big” or “giant”.  It means “black savage”.

Pacifism means you’re a pussy.  And you’re wrong.  Oh, and you’ll die.  Or it means you’re a woman.  Which means that you’ll most likely die.  And that you like to make out with your lady friends.

 50/50:  This was touted to be a good movie…but felt like every other shitty movie starring that fat fuck..what’s his name?

Stick It: There is nothing remotely awful you could say about this movie.  Brought to you by the makers of “Bring it On”?  Starring Jeff frickin Bridges?  The only way this movie would have been better is if they gave you a complimentary shirt that says “Believe in your dreams” on it before you go watch it.

[kevindupuis3000]

I've always been interested in graffiti as an art form.  I love the loud styles of the writing, and I love the distinct appearance of figures and cartoons that are undeniably rooted in the graffiti culture.  Recently I've become intrigued with street art using stencils.  I have been warned that this is a very messy art form but I am looking forward to figuring out what I am capable of. 

There's a film called 'Graffiti Wars" that highlights that there is a difference between graffiti and street art, and a lot of contention between the two styles.  The most significant difference is that a graffiti is criminalized in most cities, but street art from people like Banksy will be protected and in some cases restored by the municipality.

I think another area of concern when it comes to street art is that a surprising amount seems to be come from plagiarized art.  The video linked to above focuses on one photographer's surprise and frustration that a series of screaming self portraits have essentially been stolen from him and profited from.  I like how he is not so bothered by their use in street art, but is justifiably upset that people are profiting off his work without so much as acknowledging the original creator. 

While it is always pathetic to see people profit off of someone else's artistic work, I will say that when I am watching these types of videos, I am always amazed at all of the places the street art and graffiti shows up.  That takes guts that I don't think I have.

[kevindupuis3000]

Still a great song to dance, albeit only for a short amount of time. I was listening to this while make chocolate chip cookies today, and I learned something:  There is no reason to use mint-flavoured chocolate chips.  Ever.  They will make delicious cookies into a gross over-sweetened mess.  But maybe that's a good thing: stare the wickedness of cookie-eating right in the face.  It's kind of like "Super Size Me", but shorter and less health-threatening.

Evil Needle - Week 6

[kevindupuis3000]

Recently I watched the quintessential movie on the history of house music, “Pump up the Volume”. A couple of things that stood out to me:

It should have been obvious to me, but I did not realize how house was derived from disco.

The movie’s definition of “jacking” and what we consider jacking now are very different.

One of the interviewee’d tries to imply that disco was “black music”. This struck me as kinda strange, because disco killed funk, and funk was undeniably black music. Ergo, wouldn’t one assume that disco was white music? Or maybe Saturday Night Fever has got me all mixed up.

This song is obviously disco-friendly, and it’s also a popular whacking song today. For me, it’s one of those songs that I mistakenly put on while I’m doing the dishes but end up dancing to instead.

Patrice Rushen - Haven’t you heard?

[kevindupuis3000]

Hey ladies and gents, I recently bought a tablet! I decided to go with a Microsoft Surface... it seemed like the best bang for my buck, and I really liked the interface. At first, I ended up hating it but now I'm really enjoying it. Not having a smart phone, one of my favourite things is the Shazam app, which helps me ID random songs I've heard. I don't know why I'm explaining what Shazam is to you. If you are reading blogs you probably have been using Shazam for 5 years now. It's a great tool for me, though, because you always hear great music at jams or at dance battles but don't always get to catch who made the song. So this is the first of what I call "The Dupuis Discount Music Blowout". Because I'm gonna post a few songs that I've recently found. So let's start with a classic locking song that seems to get played a lot in the Bay Area. James Brown - Dead on it

[kevindupuis3000]

This is just one of those "I love BC" moments.  I have a project at Little Shuswap Lake, just outside of Chase, BC.  One of my favourite things about my job is I get to go to places in BC that I wouldn't have thought to go to during my own free time.

[kevindupuis3000]

my official entry into the Selfie Olympics

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Funnily enough, I just watched the film "Reincarnated" a few days before I saw this video.  I will say that this is probably the worst Snoop song I've ever heard, but I will also say that I have to admire him willing to make a absolutely ridiculous, cheesy, fun video for it.

"Reincarnated" is essentially footage of Snoop as he visits Jamaica to record his first reggae album under the moniker Snoop Lion.  The first thing you will notice in this film is that he smokes a ton.  Like in every shot.  Seriously, do not make a drinking or smoking game out of this or you will die, and it is horrible to risk dying on behalf of Snoop's reggae.  If I smoked weed or had quit a habit, I assume that this movie would have caused me to relapse so hard. Same deal if I was an Adidas addict: you'll find more Adidas product in this movie than at Foot Locker.

But if you can get past that, I found some interesting and enjoyable things in the movie.  The film presents it to seem that Snoop's ventures into reggae are brought about by him wanting to find more fulfillment in life and to help deal with the death of Nate Dogg.  It's implied that Snoop had converted earlier to Islam for similar reasons, and they tied his devotion to that with the death of Tupac.  I just really liked how behind this G'd up icon that I have grown up with, is this person who has managed to get to 40 years old and realize that he needs more in his life.

There's also a moment where he meets with Bunny Wailer and the joy on Snoop's face when Bunny greets him as Snoop Lion was touching... although I just read that Snoop cut Bunny from the album so I'm questioning that now.

Also, lord help me, I like some of the beats in the video.  However, at the end of the day, I would say that your time is better spent if you watched "Exit through the gift shop" or "Beats, Rhymes and Life" instead of this.  I'll make a note to write a few thoughts on those later.

[kevindupuis3000]

Polar Bear Swim, 2014 - Parksville.  290 participants.  Still cold as hell, although I didn't lose feeling in my feet this time.  One of these days I'm going to sit down and think about the things we do that are stupid and harmful for us, that we take pride in doing precisely because they are stupid and harmful for us.  At least this took less time to do than ToughMudda.