the yak occidental

The end of 2020 is here! Here is the final list of all the books I read during this incredibly bizarre year. 2020 is my new personal record for most books read in a year! I have read fifty-nine books, forty-nine of them being written exclusively by women.  My previous record year was 2016 , when I read fifty-two books total, though I still think 2016 is my record for most books written by women written in a year. 2020 really shifted a lot of my reading habits! Usually, I do most of my reading on my commute to and from work, but with the onset of WFH I had to carve out time in my day dedicated to reading. Roughing it in the Bush by Susanna Moodie What it means when a man falls from the sky: Stories by Lesley Nneka Arimah Few eggs and No Oranges by Vere Hodgson  The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O’Meara Trickster Drift by Eden Robinson Darkly: Black History and America’s Gothic Soul by Leila Taylor The King...

Here is a selection of memorable quotes from Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien. Painting above: Digging Trees in the Garden (c. 1908) by Zinaida Serebriakova Ai-ming told me that solitude can reshape your life. "Like a river that gets cut off from the sea," she said. "You think its moving somewhere, but it's not. You can drown inside yourself. That's how I feel." p.50 She told me I possessed what every great mathematician required, an excellent memory and a sense of poetry. p.52 Her sister was the great love of her life. When their husbands had disappeared into the war, she and Swirl had survived together, and Big Mother  had never let her sister down. p.95 Her mother's grey shirt and pants were ironed and clean, proper and unassuming, but there was a look in her mother's eyes that had nothing to do with propriety and obedience. There was no resignation, only a sharp knife in a pool of water. Her mother, she thought, had all the attribut...

My sister observed to me last week that this year for COVID Christmas everyone seemed to be going all-out with their Christmas dinner recipes. Between being cooped up with nothing else to do, and you know, the surge in people cooking new and different recipes for the first time, I think she's on to something. On these awkward between-Christmas-and-NYE days, if you find yourself with nothing to do, might I suggest attempting one of these German heritage recipes pictured here? Earlier in the summer I mentioned I have this dear old cookbook of German Heritage recipes. I was idly flipping through it the other day and was once again marvelling at the strangeness of some of these offerings.  ACTUALLY, I will have the Cream Schnitt. That's right, I said Schnitt. No, there is more of an art to potato pudding than merely over-mashing your mashed potatoes. Finally something festive! Please note how dear it is that you are requested to add "5 cents worth" or "8 cents wort...

Just a couple of quotes I found helpful, maybe you will, too! Painting above: Star Gazing (c. 1989) by Helen Frankenthaler from Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identit y by David Whyte. (Note Whyte is actually quoting his friend, Brother David) “ The antidote to exhaustion is wholeheartedness […]  You are so tired through and through  because a good half of what you do here  in this organization  has nothing to do with your true powers,  or the place you have reached in your life.  You are only half here,  and  half here will kill you after a while.  You need something to which you can give your full powers.” from The Enchanted Life: Unlocking the Magic of the Everyday by Sharon Blackie The opposite of true belonging is nostalgia :  a longing for a place which  no longer exists -  or which maybe never existed at all,  except in our imagination. More from Sharon Blackie here . More from David Whyt...

Here is a selection of memorable quotes from The Enchanted Life: Unlocking the Magic of the Everyday by Sharon Blackie. Painting above: Woman Waiting for Moon to Rise (c.1944) by Uemura Shōen  But as a result of that profound attachment to the land, I had learned something about the art of belonging  (for it is an art, which can be learned)  and I knew that the process of learning to belong to any new place is in part a process of internal mapping. You can learn to belong anywhere, in this way if you choose. It's an act of creation, and like all acts of creations, it's also an act of love, and an enormous leap of faith. I was stirred, engaged, joyful; the world had communicated itself to me,  and I radically belonged to it. And here's another innate human quality: there is something in us which is always seeking a new frontier, which requires an enigma that can't be easily penetrated, which needs a myth that can't be so easily debunked. It's just that I love au...

Of all the men in the Gilmore Girls world, I think Zack was the worst. Here's nine reasons why. I'm currently re-watching Gilmore girls for the umpteenth time, and once more I find myself loathing Zack in particular. Normally we all get caught up in Luke vs. Christopher, Dean vs. Jess vs. Logan, etc, but I think these debates distract viewers from realizing that Zack is the worst Significant Other of all the women in the show. I think the actor Todd Lowe does a great job portraying Zack, so my critique is def not his performance , my issue is the  character of Zack   who is sooo contemptible. In a way, Lowe's performance of Zack is all the more remarkable - when it comes to the Bad Men of Gilmore Girls, Zack rarely tops the list. I think it's because his many flaws are so *shrug* boys will be boys. As viewers I think we're meant to be distracted by the explosive incidents related to Logan's elitism, Mitchum's tyranny, Dean's cheating, Marty's obvio...

Here are my fave shows to watch every winter, especially around the holidays. Neo Yokio: Pink Christmas I really loved the super short-lived anime-style series Neo Yokio on Netflix, I was even Helena St. Tessero for Halloween a few years ago .  The Christmas special that ended the series was great, I watched it over and over and over when it first came out (I was sick in bed). Neo Yokio is sad and lonely... Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: A Midwinter's Tale Ep 11 of the first season of CAOS was this funny little holiday special. A little creepy, a lot silly, cozy and witchy, it is a gem for me. "Chasing Shadows"  music video by Santigold I love this music video - just a woman, alone at Christmas looking glamorous. I deeply relate, especially this year. Gilmore Girls Season 2, Episode 10: "The Bracebridge Dinner" While not technically Christmas, I just appreciate this episode centring around an insane celebratory winter feast where the entire Gilmore family and...

I've experienced some pretty weird scenarios over the autumn with people asking me for help with their careers. Here's your guide of what NOT to do when asking someone to be your reference. In the last four months or so I have had about a half a dozen people ask me for a reference or career advice. I would say only half of these people will have my recommendation again after these recent encounters, but one of my former artists in particular will never get a reference from me again. So let’s talk about asking for a reference from someone. Here are a few things I would strongly recommend: 
First, when you leave a job, if you are leaving before the end of your contract, make sure you resign to your direct supervisor or Producer, not HR (unless your studio has a policy where you are supposed to). For example, if you a modeller, do the honourable thing and tell your modelling supervisor first.  If for some reason you can’t, then tell your producer. I would recommend that you spea...

Here are my favourite songs from 2020. 2020 was a great year for music despite everything. These are my favourite songs, a lot of which overlap with my Summer playlist. DISCLAIMERS: ya i know it's a sin that there is no Fiona Apple on here.  There is country on this playlist--you can take the girl outta Abbotsford, but you can't take the Abbotsford outta the girl. best of 2020 track list 4 American Dollars by U.S. Girls Echoes by Tennis Your Light by The Big Moon Strange Girl by Laura Marling Red Velvet Twilight by Brittany Brooks Cloth by Tati Lilacs by Waxahatchee Neon Cross by Jamie Wyatt Me & You Together Song by The 1975 Save Your Tears by The Weeknd Five and Dime by Hazel English Anywayz by Austra Gospel for a New Century by Yves Tumor A Few Words for the Firing Squad (Radiation) by Run the Jewels Twisted by Johanna Warren Cults by Florida BC  Window Place by Half Waif Cut Me by Moses Sumney Opportunity by Kevin Krauter nothing forever, everything by Cedric Noel Conf...

Lana Del Rey is my often-problematic fave & I really wish she would make a Christmas album. In 2018, on my previous blog, The Closet Feminist , I wrote a desperate post wishing that Lana Del Rey would please please please make a Christmas album.  I'm sorry to say that my tastes and desperation remains the same, so here is my 2020 plea. This might become an annual thing until the music gods bless us with such an album. Dear Lana Del Rey, I love your music and I dearly wish that you would make an album of Christmas music.  You would make suited to your new Americana vibe,  it would suit your religious iconography aesthetics,  and with your voice we would all die in adoration. I humbly submit this song list that I think you would do lovely renditions of. 1. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas  2. Silver Bells 3. I’ll Be Home for Christmas 4. The Little Drummer Boy 5. White Christmas  6. Santa Baby 7. Away in a Manger  8. Auld Lang Syne 9. Silent ...

And here we are with this year's Winter playlist!  If you are panicking that you missed the 2019 playlist never fear - I didn't do one last year...too busy working and feeling dead inside.   Putting together this year's playlist on YouTube was a bit tricky -- I couldn't find The O'Pears song or BABIES' BABIES, but you can purchase these songs on bandcamp  here  and  here  respectively.  I buy all my music (from bandcamp as much as possible) to support the artists whose work I adore! I then mess around with the playlists on my iTunes, finally sharing them on YouTube. As such,I still included the songs out on the track list because the mix just feels incomplete without them. Winter 2020 Track List Lonely Man of Winter by Sufjan Stevens Jingle Jangle by The O'Pears (not on youtube, get it here ) The Perfect Christmas by Daniela Andrade Winter by Natural Sympathies New Year Love by Molly Burch Wonderful Christmastime by JW Francis NYE by Joseph u...

I've made a whole series of videos based on being in Production in Vancouver's Animation industry. But is it my dream job? I mentioned in the first video that this third series of videos was inspired by an online mentoring session I did with some youth in the lower mainland.  They asked one question in particular that gave me pause: Is this your dream job? My controversial answer for this is: being in Production is not quite my dream job, and here’s why: When I first started out in the animation industry, I was coming from the non-profit sector. I wanted to help shape the stories that shape us. How can I do this in Production, where we never actually build any assets or open any shots? To be clear, I have never attempted to re-qualify for a creative role in animation, nor do i want to. I’ve always liked being in Production and think I’m suited to the work we do here. For more on this, check out  Video 4, “My Experience in Production." I don’t think having creative contro...

 Ah, the money question. I hate to chicken out with the answer, but it totally depends on your priorities if the hours are worth the pay or not. For me, the hours being worth the pay has changed a lot over the years. Sometimes it is totally worth it and I’ve been happy to do 50-60 hours workweeks, other times and contracts, it’s not. Thankfully Vancouver has a variety of studio cultures and approaches to overtime and hours. I’ve heard of people in VFX or in animation at the big houses who work for a couple years and buy a condo in Vancouver well before the age of thirty HOWEVER the trade off, of course, is that they always work. I distinctly remembering interviewing for a Production coordinator role at one of the big houses a about five years ago. It was late spring when I interviewed, and already they told me that if I were to accept the role, I could expect to work every weekend and every stat holiday for the rest of the year except Christmas day. Would I have made a ton of mone...