The Year of Celebration

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...