The Year of Celebration

Yesterday I went with a large group of friends to the Art Walk in the East, part of the revitalisation of the old capital of Bermuda, St. George's. In LA I keep planning on going to the various art walks there, but as we all know life can sometimes get in the way. I didn't know what to expect and was worried that there wouldn't be a good turnout, but it was bustling and beautiful. The galleries were all open, some with live music, all with drinks and later Heather, Nick and I headed to Tavern by the Sea for dinner. We'd desperately wanted to try Wahoo's, but they had no room for us. I've had the same issue numerous times I've wanted to eat there. Must be sure to make a reservation next time! Along the route out of St. Geo we ran into six guys who had all sailed to Bermuda from Newport. Heather knew one of them so we kidnapped them and took them off to the Rugby Classic Closing Party at the field. Strangely enough today is the anniversary of the first ever

Remembrance Day. Or Veterans' Day for you Americans. This doesn't need much description as wel all know what to celebrate here, our veterans.  Though I did find it fun to mark 11:11 on 11.11.11 especially because not only does it work in either  month/day order, but it's the only time in our lifetime that the same numbers are going to happen. Likely, much longer than that.  I am highly damaged today. Yesterday I went to one of the games of the World Rugby Classic that's held in Bermuda every year, but this was my first time attending. Man, have I been missing out?! It was so much fun. Someone I know called it the Ex-Pat's CupMatch . The party continued to Sophie's house until 6 in the morning, so today is marked for recovery.

 When I first got to London, my friend Anne suggested we all go for brunch at Columbia Road on the day of the flower market, which happens every Sunday. Unfortunately, we couldn't all get together, but it's been in my mind since then. So finally today, on my last Sunday I went with John to the market. It was absolutely beautiful. I couldn't believe how cheap the flowers were, being used to all the imported flowers in Bermuda, which are insanely pricey. There were orchids for a fiver, and my "brother" Raymond in New York is obsessed with orchids. I wished he was around so I could buy them for him. If I wasn't about to leave on Tuesday I would have scooped up loads. I have to admit the photo of the flowers isn't mine as I stupidly didn't take any pictures of the actual market.  We had a lovely wander along the market, grabbed some food and coffee and proceeded to investigate all the vintage stores around. Some were incredibly pricey, but I found s

Ah love. How many wedding posts does this make? No idea, but this one was an amazing one. One of the best weddings I've ever been to. The couple got married at 632 on Hudson , which was an incredible venue.  There was a huge square staircase leading up three floors, with an atrium in the middle. The couple got married at the bottom, whilst we all looked down on them from the staircase. It was absolutely beautiful. Jon is a part-time party thrower/promoter and Olivia is very arty and talented, so the wedding was phenomenal. Little Bermudian (him) and English (her) h'ors doeuvres were served before dinner, which gave it a very lovely touch. Dinner was downstairs, then partying continued upstairs, and onto a club for the after party, which the bride appeared in in full Vera Wang regalia. So today is obviously September 11th. Now, of course it would be hard to find anything to celebrate on this day, considering the tragedy. But I would like to take a moment to celebrate the sp

Awwww love. Wedding number 432 for this summer. Well, clearly not. But it seems that my summer has been spent dressing up to celebrate close friends tying the knot. I was happily able to witness Elyse and Andrew jumping the broom yesterday. Not so happily was that fact that I was sooo ill I could barely stand. But I soldiered on, and it was a lovely day with an incredible celebration. They did a same-day edit of all the wedding festivities and showed it at about 11pm. I nearly caught the bouquet (not normally my thing, but I decided to be a good sport about it), but then had it ripped from my hands by a clearly keener girl. Ah well, you win some, you lose some. Today in 1908, US President Lyndon. B. Johnson was born. The following quote comes from him: "We have talked long enough in this country about equal rights. We have talked for one hundred years or more. It is time now to write it in the books of law." But his other quotes are much funnier. The man had

I landed in Toronto yesterday to celebrate the wedding of two of my close friends Elyse and Andrew. The wedding is in a couple of hours and I feel ROTTEN. Is it the result of too much partying? I wish. Last night I had dinner with one of my favourite married couples Miranda and Chris and another friend Sabrina. We went to Ki, a modern Japanese restaurant on Bay Street. The food was phenomenal. And Miranda and Chris generously paid for everyone's dinner, which was absolutely lovely of them. Chris left to join the boys on a pre-wedding night out. Us girls (pictured) went onto party in town, and that's when the trouble began. I just felt like my food wasn't digesting. By the time I got home I felt truly awful and basically spent the entire night being sick. Not cool. Seeing as we all had sharing plates, and no one else is ill, I have to admit it's probably just a stomach flu I've picked up. But whatever it is, I'm fighting to celebrate today (fighting to stay on m

It is with a heavy heart that I write about the death of Nick Ashford of the couple and power-house music duo Ashford & Simpson. I have been fortunate in my own life to see them perform twice, both at Progressive Labour Party events in Bermuda, where they took on the slogan "Solid as a Rock" for their election campaign (and won). This twosome wrote so many of the world's most famous songs, I'm nearly having a meltdown trying to figure out what to share. So I just had to choose the classic Ain't No Mountain High Enough (which is also the backing music for Amy Winehouse's Tears Dry on Their Own). Thank you, Nick Ashford, for giving us so much music to celebrate. Rest Well. Personally, I was in a "Kind of Blue" kind of mood today, so I spent the evening listening to Miles Davis' album of the name and started clearing out my belongings ahead of the move back to LA. My mother wants to move after we've all left so she's commanded

After last night's early night I had a lot of energy this morning. Spent a couple of hours writing my children's book, then headed to St. George's to see my sister's godmother Gina before she headed back to the UK. I arrived at Grape Bay and surfed (badly) for a few hours with my friends Nick, Ben, Kaitlyn, Jason and my sister Nadia. Nick recently had his jaw broken by some youths who jumped him for defending a girl in a bar. I marvel at Nick's positivity. He's one of the sunniest people I know and hasn't let this get him down. He inspires me to be more optimistic. Nick hasn't let it make him less sociable, and actually went to the concert I missed on Friday night, because I was moping at home. As I was driving home from the beach all I could think was that I was in a blues/jazz kind of mood and immediately wanted to start playing some when I got home. Happily for me, today is the birthdate of Count Basie, so I had a reason to listen to him for an hou

No post yesterday because I was thoroughly miserable. Any particular reason? Well, no. Which makes being bipolar so frustrating sometimes, because I was on a high all week following my birthday (and not having the usual birthday crises). So I finished work at 3pm, got into bed, and didn't leave until 6am the next morning. I got a little work done on my children's book though (from the comfort of my bed) so at least I achieved something. All of my friends went to a concert at Snorkel Park. Mischka, a Bermudian reggae artist who was recently signed to Matthew McConaughey's new record label, was the headliner. But I couldn't even bring myself to shower, let alone get gussied up to go to a concert. And I had no amount of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) either so wasn't really concerned. Although, I woke up feeling fine today and now regret not going out! Ah, you can't win 'em all (even if that's what this year of celebration is about). So I just decided to go dou

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but I'm in a Book Club called B3 (Bermy Book Babes). Clearly, an all-female book club, it's a great chance to open my mind to books I wouldn't usually read and have a good old natter once every couple of months. One book we read a few months ago was The Help, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I went to see the film tonight with Aziza and my younger sister Claudia and it was very faithful to the book. My only issue was that, and I know this sounds controversial, but many in Book Club agreed with me, that the Black women couldn't stand up for themselves, and they needed a White woman to essentially come to their rescue and make them see the light. The book was written by a White woman, so I can see how it would be told from her perspective. But it was an extraordinary book, and an excellent story.  Here are some quotes from the film: "Fried chicken just tend to make you feel better about life."  "If

Today is my friend Lee Hirsch's birthday, and in celebration of him I'm posting the trailer to his incredible documentary, "The Bully Project: A Year in the Life of America's Bullying Crisis". It's a truly phenomenal piece of work, and if you're at festivals, or when it gets properly released rush to see it. You can check out the facebook page here . <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PBymTVjBYHg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

So my family thinks I make such a big deal about my birthday that they've decided to name it LianaFest. I have fully embraced this name and am totally content with pushing it to the limit. Last year I rented a boat, threw a Garden of Eden themed party on it, and everyone came off the boat a little worse for wear, but keen to continue partying. I had a fantastic time. This year had a lower turn-out. Surprising as it was on land, and I was a little disappointed. But I still had a lot of friends there, and felt pretty loved, so it was definitely good enough. Frankly, I needn't celebrate anything more on my birthday, and I'm recovering today so that's all I'll leave you with.

And a hair appointment. After all this partying I need beautifying. Thatisall.

Non-Mariners' Day is considered one of the best days in the Bermuda calendar. Hundreds of boats go to Mangrove Bay in Somerset and "raft-up" together, creating pockets of parties all along the water that you can swim between. There's also the Non-Mariners' Race, which involves people building floating crafts out of various pieces of debris and attempting to "race" them. They mostly involve funny jokes, and there's a pipe band. People gather at the shore to watch the hilarity. I stayed away and just hung out on the boats partying. I was supposed to go for a farewell dinner for Jen at the lighthouse, but that was impossible as I fell asleep at 7 and have only just woken up!

Today, in 1729 the City of Baltimore was founded. Without Baltimore, there would never have been the best television show to ever exist: The Wire. I can't help but celebrate Baltimore, even though it has a less than stellar reputation. Who doesn't fancy a little bit of McNulty and Stringer Bell? Mmmmmm. Today's Quote is one of my favourites. It comes from a conversation when Lt. Cedric Daniels is being persuaded by his wife to adjust his morals: Marla Daniels: "The tree that doesn't bend, breaks, Cedric." Daniels: "The tree that bends too much is broken already." I consider it such a strong position, I greatly admire his character. Aziza, Cal and I took Jen on a little islan d tour today to Dockyard and then Horseshoe Bay, where she did her first cliff jump ever. I chickened out at the top of the cliff, mostly worried about injuring my foot again! Dinner tonight beachside at Mickeys.

TO THE GAME! Today involved actually heading to the Cricket game to watch the final day of Cup Match. Well, I didn't do much watching, I did a lot of wandering, eating, drinking and gambling at Crown & Anchor. Crown & Anchor involves a table with the 4 suits, and a crown and anchor. You place your bet on whichever you like and the dealer rolls three dice with each side representing a square. If you get one, you double your money, two, triple your money...and so on. I broke even, but ended up buying an airhorn necklace (Bermp! Bermp!) by Alexandra Mosher so finished down by the end of the day. My friend Jen is visiting from Toronto (and I'm visiting her in a few weeks to go to a wedding - or "veddin" in Bermudian). She arrived off the Air Canada flight at lunchtime and we took her straight to the game, she was under strict orders not to wear St. George's colours, which are light blue and dark blue. Somerset, the team I support, is dark blue and red. The mat

Today is the first day of CupMatch and I spent the day at Chewstick NeoGriot lounge's annual Beachfest celebration. This year it was named Peacefest to encourage peace in our community. Unfortunately, the day was marred by a fight that broke out amongst some youts, and my mother was hit with a bottle. She's ok, thankfully, just a bit cut up on her leg. The day was fun, though not as good in year's past (although no rain this year - it POURED last year), but still a worthy celebration. I was feeling a bit of social anxiety, as I'm prone to, before heading out there, but a few hours in it had subsided mostly. Pictured L-R, Myself, Amy, Ed, Lydia, Jordan and Kyle. Heading for a nap now, then to Andrew Green's annual Cup Match island party on Marshall's Island by boat. Lots of food, drinks, and fun. Fantastic.

I love the concept of today's celebration. When I read the name I thought it was perfect. It's celebrated in Finland on this day every day. The last person in bed is usually woken up with water, either by being thrown into a lake or the sea or having water thrown on them. Now my little sister was the last person out of bed today, but unfortunately I didn't know about the day until after she had gotten out of bed. It is based on the story of the Saints of Ephesus who slept in a cave for 200 years during the Middle Ages whilst hiding from persecution by the Roman Emperor. In the city of Naantali, a Finnish celebrirty is chosen every year to be thrown in the sea from the city's port at 7 a.m. The identity of the sleeper is kept secret until the event. People who are chosen have usually done something to the benefit of the city. Every city mayor has thus far been thrown to the sea at least once, but other sleepers have included the president's husband, the CEO of

Today, in 1952 Eva Duarte de Peron, wife of the president of the Argentine Republic, General Juan Domingo de Peron, passed away from cancer at the age of 33. Her early death is surely a sad occasion, but it gives me the opportunity to share this beautiful rendition of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" by Sinead O'Connor, from the musical "Evita" based on Eva Peron's life. On July 26, 1875, Carl (Gustav) Jung , one of the founders of analytic psychology, was born. He was a man of beautiful words, so I share the following quotes, which compliment this blog: "A man who has not passed through the inferno of his passions has never overcome them. " " Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity. "

On July 25th, Louise Brown, the world's first test tube baby was born. Now I know that many people feel this is immoral, but I am not one of those people. I am celebrating the fact that so many parents, wonderful parents, have had the opportunity to raise a family thanks to this scientific advance. In 1989 Princess Diana opened the Landmark AIDS Centre in South West London. The prevention and search for a cure for HIV/AIDS is a cause close to my heart. I have known quite a few people who have succumbed to the disease and it's truly heartbreaking. Princess Diana's work with HIV/AIDS patients really helped to educate the public and remove some of the stigma associated with the disease. In early 2001 Landmark's services were integrated with Lighthouse, part of the Terrence Higgins Trust. The National AIDS Trust recognised Princess Diana's work in de-stigmatising the illness when they started the Diana Princess of Wales Lecture on AIDS in 1999.

Every year my friend Marty hosts his birthday party at his house the weekend before Cup Match (Bermuda's Emancipation Celebration holiday). Every year he calls it something related to his name, we've had Marty Like a Rockstar, Cinco de Marty, Mart Madness, etc. This year's is named Martchella after Coachella. I also had a pool party to rock up to so I spent the night flitting between the two. Bermuda is a very multi-cultural place, and some would say very integrated. However, oftentimes I am struck by how segregated we are. I took my friend Jason to both parties, in the first I was the only person of colour, at the second he was the only Caucasian person. I still think it's a shame, but I hope we are always progressing on this front. Today is the birthdate of Haile Selassie I, the emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974, was born. Following his death on August 26, 1975. I wrote early in my blog about Selassie here . The non-celebratory news of Amy Winehouse's deat

This evening I went to see my very talented friend Stratton Hatfield's art exhibition YART . It is an exploration of local plants and materials intended to compliment outdoor spaces. Bids are still open and 50% of the silent auction's money raised will go to local Bermuda charities. Gotta celebrate that, and Stratton's amazing heart.

On July 21, 1899, Ernest Hemingway, the American novelist and short story writer, was born. I have already quoted Hemingway here , but he's such a prolific writer he deserves another. I'm writing a short story/picture book at the moment so I'm very focused on writing: "A man's got to take a lot of punishment to write a really funny book. " Today in 1969 the Space Race reached it's most important milestone. A man walked on the moon. Well, two actually, Lance Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. What an incredible feeling that must have been. Maybe one day in the future there will be commercial flights to the moon. Now that would be something to celebrate. My mother is Malaysian and we have plenty of family in Singapore and Malaysia. Today is Racial Harmony Day in Singapore, and being multi-racial I would always celebrate that.

The last couple of days I've been art directing a photo shoot for a competition on Style Bermuda. It's the first time I've ever art directed a shoot, and I LOVED it. I had wonderful models Rachel, Rayneisha and Tsilala. I will be editing late into the night with the photographer Kageaki Smith, but here's a teaser image. UPDATE: Vote in the competition here . Mine is called "Brilliant Bathing".

Today's celebration post is an easy one, I'm celebrating my father, Julian Ernest Sinclair Hall. Two years ago today Dad passed away, and not a day goes by that I don't feel a twinge of pain thinking about him. Grief and depression are a strange combination. The accepted theory in the DSM is that grief becomes depression when it goes on past a certain accepted period of time. Well I challenge that. My father's death changed me irrevocably, and I will always grieve for him. However, it was for the duration of a year and a half that my personality changed, and I'm only just beginning to get the "old" me back. I became much less social, less interested in interacting with people, less bubbly and more depressed about life. Many of my friends have remarked I'm beginning to become more like my past self, and I'm not entirely sure if that has to do with my medication or not. Either way, I'm thankful for it. My father lead a very interesting life. If y

Today is World Day for International Justice, which recognises the emergence of international criminal justice and is celebrated the day the Rome Statute creating the International Criminal Court was established. As a lawyer, I spent a lot of time studying cases that went to this court and so I'm a bit of a geek for such a day. People use the day to host events to promote international justice and focuses on particular issues such as genocide and serious crimes of violence against women. Speaking of justice today in 1976 African countries boycotted the Olympics only hours before the Opening Ceremony in protest of New Zealand's agreement to play Rugby with South Africa during apartheid. Today's quote comes from Kenya's foreign Minister James Osogo who said: "The government and the people of Kenya hold the view that principles are more precious than medals." I think that is a beautiful quote, and it really touched me. Today in 2009, Walter Cronkite pas

Today on July 16, 1911, Ginger Rogers, the American actress and dancer who partnered with Fred Astaire in many Hollywood musicals, was born. I've chosen to share two different videos. One from Roberta titled Too Hard to Handle and the classic Cheek to Cheek from Top Hat, which is such a special and romantic song, it makes me dreamy-eyed thinking about the golden era of Hollywood romance. Today's quote comes from J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, which was published today in 1951 and has become the seminal novel for teen angst. "Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them — if you want to. Jus

Today is Rembrandt's birthday so I chose to share one of his sketches of an elephant. Elephants have special significance for me due to my best friend Mia. On what would have been my father's 60th birthday, Mia presented me with a custom made sterling silver pendant necklace made by our friend Alexandra Mosher . The pendant is pictured and is engraved with the words March Forth. My father's birthday was March 4th, and his grandmother always said it should be his motto for life: to always "march forth". The elephant is significant because elephants are partners for life, and though we're clearly not a couple, Mia is my soul mate. She is one of my favourite people in the w orld and I often feel like I couldn't get through the hard times without her. And of course elephants march. The full story behind the necklace and it's creation can be found on Alexandra's blog . It is also my mother's birthday. I wrote at length about my mum in the post Moth

After the video game launch I attended in LA, I finally got 'round to seeing the new Transformers film. It was what was expected: 3D, lots of action, and lady eye candy. I felt like it went on forever and was a bit bored, but I was definitely inspired by the sight of Rosie Huntington-Whitely to get my butt in the gym. Motivation is always hard to find, but that definitely did it! So whilst men might celebrate her for a different reason, Rosie, I am celebrating you for kicking me off my butt and onto the treadmill. Sigh.

I went to hospital today, so not a lot to celebrate. Had a bunch of symptoms (dizziness, nausea, double vision, REM whilst awake), which ended with an injection in my bum. Lovely. But tonight I'm starting a Harry Potter marathon to watch before the last film comes out (whilst eating dry toast). Celebrating the series. Actually lovely. My minor health issue makes me think of the above postsecret .

I'm profiled in Bermuda newspaper The Royal Gazette's Lifestyle section here.

Raging. Boating. Raving. Boating again. A few tumbles and falls (and a bruised bum). What a smashing weekend.

www.postsecret.com

Tonight I went with Aziza to the Moonlight Bazaar at Moon Nightclub. It starts just after work with happy hour and various stalls set up. I used my voucher for my friend Alexandra Mosher's jewellery. Her website is here . Her stuff is absolutely beautiful. I got Bermuda Reef earrings featuring pink Bermuda sand and they're pictured here. The two-year anniversary of my father's death is coming up shortly. I found myself a bit tearful yesterday out of nowhere, whilst I was driving the car. I still can't believe he won't see me get married, or know my children. I got 24 years with him, and it will never feel like enough. But, I realise it's all part of life, not depression, and though grief will stay with me always, depression won't necessarily. Today in 1911, the United States, Great Britain, Japan, and Russia sign the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911 banning open-water seal hunting, which was the first international treaty to address wildlife prese

Harbour Nights is a summer street festival held in Bermuda every Wednesday night in the high season. I haven't been in a couple of years, but used to love rollerblading around it as a child. I hadn't seen Aziza much since the wedding and her moving into her new marital home, so we thought it would be nice to take an evening stroll and watch the various shows. My friend Johnny was performing with the Alpha Phi Alpha step team so we went to check them out, along with another friend's band Joy T. Barnum & The Channel. I've added video of the Gombeys, the alphas and Joy. After a lovely 3 hours, I headed to Docksiders for a couple of drinks and good friend time. More joy.

Today I had a photo shoot for StyleBermuda , shot by the talented Alex Masters . It was for a story coming out in a couple of weeks entitled "Screen Siren: An homage to former film legends". It's a photo story and interview and I replicate famous women from the 40s, 50s and 60s. I'm looking forward to seeing the final images. Today in 1975 Arthur Ashe became the first Black man to win the Wimbledon singles title. I actually have his autobiography "Days of Grace" and have been meaning to read it for some time. Perhaps this summer is that time. Yes, I'll start it today. Arthur died of AIDS after contracting HIV through a contaminated blood transfusion. I have known quite a few people who have sadly succumbed to the disease and the search for a cure is something I hold very close to my heart and dream of everyday. I get tested every 6 months religiously and encourage you to do the same. The cartoonist Bill Waterson was born today, July 5th, in 1958. He is t

We all know what Americans are celebrating today...INDEPENDENCE DAY! So I'm not American, but I'm all for self-determination....and fireworks (who isn't?!). So this evening I went down to Elbow Beach with a bunch of friends to chill out, play cards and watch the sun go down and join a few hundred people watching the fireworks set off by Coral Beach. Absolutely beautiful.

Ahhhh....what a fabulous day today turned out to be. I thought I might be exhausted post-raft-up, but I actually was quite chipper. I went to a surprise bridal shower for Elyse who's wedding is in Toronto in August. The theme was "Sunday Best" and there were prizes for best hat and I came 3rd (out of 20 - boomshackalacka!). I am actually quite competitive, and there was bridal jeopardy and my table didn't have any of Elyse's family members so we were quite worried. But we became very rowdy and actually ended up winning (though I think we annoyed everyone else at the shower, but hey, winning comes with a price). I also won a raffle prize, so I left with a bunch of booty (not to mention stealing a load of cupcakes). What I didn't win at? Croquet. In fact, I lost so terribly that I'm concerned for my hand-eye coordination. Even though I'm clumsy I was always very good at sports, perhaps lack of doing them has made me lose all my natural ability. Ah, well.

Ahhh....it's summertime in Bermuda, and that means RAFT-UPS! For those non-Bermudians/islanders raft-ups are essentially everyone taking their boats out and tying them up to each other and just having a huge party in the water and on the boats. Today was the "Winter-Babies Raft-Up". It's purpose is to celebrate birthdays for people who couldn't raft-up in Winter because it was too cold. Alicia Churm organises it and provides children's party bags with lollipops and rice krispies treats and other goodies. Ahhhh childhood party memories. Too much fun, so just photos for today.

Pinch. Punch. First of the Month. Today I was interviewed by The Royal Gazette about my acting progress. I mainly did it for evidence for my visa, but I actually enjoyed it, though I was genuinely a bit nervous when I was with the reporter. I had to take pictures with the official photographer outside of the Gazette and it didn't help having men in truck hollering as I was taking the pictures! Speaking of media and communications today in 1890 Bermuda and Canada were linked by telegraph cable. Seeing as there's been a mail strike in Canada and our mail isn't getting there right now, I thought it was a particularly apt thing to celebrate. No doubt the strike will be over soon, but at least the cable began more sophisticated modes of communication from Bermuda to the rest of the world. Not so desert devil's island anymore. Also in 2007, smoking was banned in all public places in the UK. As an asthmatic who is triggered by smoking and someone who's father died of smok

Yesterday (Wednesday) I was walking with my dear friend Marc Daniels, a great lawyer at Charter Chambers here in Bermuda. We ran into "Keith", who most Bermudians know of. Keith is a destitute man, who trawls the streets of Hamilton asking for money. Now, we don't have many of these "homeless bums" as many would call them, which is why we all know the ones we do, and mourn their deaths when they pass from this world to the next. Marc and I began discussing how sad a long-term addiction is and I mentioned that I felt like the stigma of mental illness is so strong, especially here in Bermuda, and that our facilities and programs here are woefully under-equipped to handle the many types of illness, trauma counselling and alcohol and drug issues that come from those. I often get a fearful feeling in my stomach when I write about how I feel, because I worry people will judge me, relegate me to being "crazy", or an "attention seeker" or that I'

Sometimes, you (and by "you" I mean "I") just gotta dance around your room playing air guitar. And I wish that was the only exercise I'd done today as I managed to damage myself on the treadmill. Calamity Jane strikes again. Ouch. Only celebratory exercise permitted from here on out.

Another day, another BEPRO event. Having spent the last four months in LA as a struggling actor this week's Lunch n' Learn was all about Personal Finances, so I leapt at the chance to attend. Plus my lovely friend Elyse, who is getting married in August (yes, another wedding for me this summer!) was one of the guest speakers representing Capital G so I had to attend. It was very informative, though most of it I already knew, but specifically it was helpful to remind me to do certain things, like put money away and increase my life insurance and generally not bury my head in the sand about my often precarious financial position. Life of an artist....but I love it! The next one is on stocks and bonds, so I'll definitely be attending. I'm so proud of all the crew at BEPRO (most of whom are friends) for the excellent work they're doing in our community. Keep it up, guys! He might be an arrogant twit sometimes, but I have to admit to having a bit of a thing for A.A. G

Mmmmm....lunched at Beau Rivage, at Newstead Hotel today. Delicious food and delicious view. Who could ask for anything more?

Day 2 of beaching with Mina. Sigh, life is just so hard sometimes here on-island. Actually, that is true, but there are many of us who are frustrated with island life...it just depends on how frequently that frustration occurs. Mine sadly rears its head pretty often, it's one of the reasons I'm so nomadic, but I think I might feel that way about anywhere I spend too much time in. Whenever the anxiety occurs about a return to the island, the moment I can start seeing the reefs from the plane a calmness sweeps over me and I remember that this is my home, forever and always. Pandora is not, in this context, referring to the box. Although, I did just finish a play in LA all about Pandora's Box (why is it that always sounds dirty to me...I don't mean it that way!). It is the name of our dear family friends, the Nanninis, beautiful hideaway in Somerset. I love the house, and the way Sharon has decorated it. They're half Italian and the house reflects that in so

Today, June 25th, in 1951 the first commerical colour telecast took place as CBS transmitted a one-hour special from NYC to four other citites. Who doesn't love colour television? Big-up CBS. In other broadcasting news, I have to admit to naughtily post-timing the blogs, because often it's the wee hours of the next day and I can't possibly write about my day, but I'm excusing myself because I need to time each day as the day I celebrated, all for the sake of the blog. So there you go. So tonight I went to Christie & Ramon's after-party for their beautiful wedding. And it was the first test of my new-found sobriety. After Friday night made me feel terrible from just three drinks, I decided to cut-down drinking as close to cutting-out as possible. Apart from the fact that it doesn't mix well with my medication (yes, I said it) drinking a depressant when trying to combat depression isn't exactly the best of methods (though I'm

On June 24th, 1374 a sudden outbreak of St. John's Dance (aka dancing mania, dancing plague, choreomania) caused people in the streets of Aachen, Germany to suffer hallucinations and jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapsed from exhaustion. Now that sounds like it beats the Electric Shuffle to me. Affecting thousands of people across several centuries, dancing mania was not a one-off event, and was well documented in contemporary reports.There is no consensus among modern-day scholars as to whether it was an actual illness or social phenomenon. Generally, musicians accompanied dancers, to help ward off the mania, but this tactic sometimes backfired by encouraging more to join in. So what would I do to celebrate this day? Dance of course! Well that was the plan, but I ended up just dancing around my room earlier today, because I clocked-out after Happy Hour at Fairmont Hamilton Princess....so much for that. At least tomorrow I have Ramon & Christie'

On June 21, 1905, Jean-Paul Sartre, the French existientialist philosopher and writer, was born. So today's quotes comes from him (and as I frequently experience existentialist crises it was difficult to find a positive/celebratory one from him): "Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does. It is up to you to give [life] a meaning." "Like all dreamers I confuse disenchantment with truth." Today in 1948 the LP was introduced to the world by Columbia Records at a demonstration at the Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan. In celebration of that, and Brandon Flowers' (of The Killers) birthday here's their song "When You Were Young"

This Monday in June is Bermuda's National Heroes' Day. It was only established 4 years ago, but I think it is an important holiday to commemorate the great leaders of our society, who often get lost in the pages of today's newspapers and knowledge. I was especially proud this year as Dr. E.F. Gordon was celebrated and I am very good friends with his granddaughter. His daughter, Pamela, was the first female Premier of Bermuda. Pictured are her two grandsons, Ethan and Elijah, who collected the awards on behalf of the family (not pictured is granddaughter Elan). Dr. Gordon was a medical doctor who is regarded in Bermuda as the father of the labour movement. Being a member of the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party, I am clearly a supporter of Dr. Gordon's. He was a Member of the Colonial Parliament (MCP) and challenged racism at every opportunity. When White Parliamentarians refused to refer to him as "Dr." Gordon he changed his name to "Mazumbo" in prot

Today we are celebrating "Juneteenth "commemorating the anniversary of the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the United States. It is also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day (Bermuda's own Emancipation Day is held in late July). Today is also Fathers' Day and a father I know's birthday. In the weeks running up to Fathers' Day I had begun to resent the very idea. I kept receiving spam mail telling me to buy something special for "Dad". As my father passed away nearly two years ago, the emails always made me feel raw as no, he doesn't need a new watch, or cufflinks, or cologne, or whathaveyou. But then I realised that Fathers' Day is jut another chance to remember him and to celebrate the other father in my life - my stepdad, who has truly taken us in as his own and is a rock for our family. So Charlie...HAPPY FATHERS' DAY. Pictured is my family on the day my mum and stepdad got married last October. So this is to family.