From sunset at 7:03 pm on Saturday, September 29, to sunrise at 7:14 am on Sunday, September 30, 2007, Toronto will be bustling with activity as thousands experience a full night of contemporary art and performance in three zones across the city.After a stunning and triumphant launch in September 2006, the widespread appeal for Scotiabank Nuit Blanche to return in 2007 was overwhelming. On May 10, 2007, Toronto Mayor David Miller officially announced that Scotiabank Nuit Blanche had become an annual signature event for the City of Toronto, and he invited everyone to rediscover Toronto through this free, all-night celebration of contemporary art.

just as i am writing this post, ML, now based in toronto is packing her bags for this arty all nighter. an arty party, what else can you ask for? this is so right up my ally being a student of contemporary art and an arty fart all around.

i so want to be there!

we have lift off. they came, they saw, they ate, shopped and left very satisfied, of course guided by their official tour guide, me. whenever folks come over for a holiday, its conveniently a holiday for me too. with a limited time and so many things to choose from, spring break went by at break neck speed.

in a nutshell, the 7-day personalised tour included shopping at dfo and bridge road, lots and lots of eating at lots and lots very good restaurants, self-drive to the dandenong ranges (tulip festival, olinda and sassasfra villages, sunset at skyhigh mount dandenong, german buffet at cuckoo restaurant), boating at studley park boat house, a day out at the royal melbourne show, look out at eureka skydeck and out-sourcing at the great ocean road (go west tours) and puffing billy/yarra valley/ healesville sanctuary (apt tours).

the most recent 22 pages of my flickr site are uploads of a fraction of the photos taken. pictures of the visitors are noticeably “missing”; there are just too many of them (photos that is).

i wouldn’t wax lyrical about the scenic drives, succulent spreads and superb weather. i’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

some visual highlights

 tulip festival

 sky high mount dandenong

 cuckoo restaurant

 yarra valley

 healesville sanctuary

 royal melbourne show

 great ocean road

the next couple of days will be followed by an intensive period of essay generating just before spring break ends. i need a break from spring break.

i don’t think that moms actually “know” best because opinions are conditioned by well, changing conditions. but what says constant is the intuition that moms have with regards to their daughters’ needs and wants.

my mom provided for me in the most natural ways without me having to ask or point out a need. she brought me snow skin moon cakes because she knew that i didn’t like the baked crusty kind and altered my new pair of pants one inch shorter (the appropriate length) while i showered.

showing understanding, love and concern by simply providing a certain food transcends all cultures. (reminds me of a scene in ratatouille) it takes conscientiousness and care to notice the subtle and sometimes not so subtle preference for one’s taste in food. perhaps that’s why food and family come so naturally together.

on the note of family fuzziness, some thoughts dawned on me today.

- no matter how grown up we get, parents have a way of cutting us down to size and stature of toddling 5 year olds.

- when a child does something wrong, the parent feels more of a failure than the child can ever feel.

while on the way to a lunch appointment at blue train cafe (where the eggplant chips rock!) jk and i spotted some pirates rafting along the yarra river at the south bank stretch.

i thought that it was just another normal weird sporting things that melbournians do when they’re in the mood for it.

so i thought that it was such an uncanny coincidence that a pirate flag is displayed on the flickr logo after i’ve uploaded the photos! that was until the geek pointed out that today is in fact ‘international talk like a pirate day’.

the flickr blog makes a mention of the occasion and i’ve also added my share of pirate spottings to the ‘international talk like a pirate day flickr pool‘.

check out a few other pirate sightings.

Update: i got featured on metroblogging melbourne! 

ratatouille is fabulously delicious! and will most certainly endure itself to people who love good food and to those who cook and don’t cook alike.

the current reason i give myself for not cooking is precisely because i love good food. sure, “anyone can cook,” like gustave claims, but he also disclaims that “only the fearless will be great.” for myself, i fear that i will make a mess out of the preparation only to end up with a crappy meal that dampens my spirit.

a key talent of remy (the protagonist rat) is the ability to sniff out the aroma of different ingredients and the sense to know how they will act on each other. that’s precisely what i can’t diagnose – was there too little of this or too much of that?

i think cooking is both an art and a science; it involves the careful honing of the artistry of the craft as well as the knack for alchemy. i am therefore utterly transfixed by friends and loved ones who can whip up a delicious meal; akin to wielding a magic wand and casting spells.

the geek did a very good review of ratatouille. he also mentioned a trailer of the next pixar film that i was very much looking forward to in the big screen, but alas! australian cinemas do not show them! where’s Wall•E?

on the note of food, in the excitement of gushing over ratatouille, a bunch of friends and i may well create the dish at the next cheese and wine party! also i revived my cooking blog with an attempt at apple crumble as witnessed at my cousin’s place and then repeated at my own.