who are you??

I have a secret.

I can see how many times my Blog is looked at. I can't see by who. It pains me. This mystery, this unknowing of the eyes that read my words, the hands that scroll down my page. Like strangers touching me and running back into the shadows. In no direction can I run to find you, oh reader of my blog. But I can hear your steps retreating into the darkness. Giggles echo of the empty walls of the internet. Suddenly someone comes up behind me and whispers but they're gone before an identity is placed.

Oh, how it saddens me to have these silent visitors. Please converse with me and say something if only a hello. Post a comment or email me. Send me your address and maybe I'll send you something unexpected and lushious.

jill@morekissesplease.com

vacation requirements

Dear Sir,

I would like to reserve the east wing of your establishment for my impending arrival on June 26. I am uncertain how long I will be staying, but it would be no later than July 10.

If there are provisions to provide extras I would like the following list to be considered:

-crisp Egyptian Linen of the finest quality, hospital corners please
-filtered ice water present at all times
-fresh squeezed orange juice, 1/2 grapefruit and organic eggs, scrambled, with whole grain toast provided no later than 10 am, with fresh brewed Italian coffee
-a man servant, personal masseuse, and a shoe sign boy will also be required for the duration of my stay

Thank you for these considerations. I'm looking forward to my stay at your esteemed and valued accomodations.

Sincerely,

Your Highness

found hearts

I created a new photo group on Flickr called Found Hearts .Fitting at this time of the year, since there are so many floating around due to the commercial craze of Valentine's Day. It might be really interesting who posts what images.

Fitting time of the year to have a blog called More Kisses Please, too.

the places I've been

I blame another as I feel offer up my own list of 4 jobs I've had in the past.

1. Face mask maker- Who knew that grapes and garlic together could be good for the skin?? I'm still skeptical that ground fennel root, coriander, and raw eggs actually do anything but entertain. Isn't it what you put in the body that counts??

2. Deli Manager- Found an undiscovered passion for cheese. All 300 kinds of it. Used to say I went to Europe to look at art and if I could go back, I would look at cheese instead. I think maybe I was temporarily insane.

3. Waitress- It was a cool job when I did it at the Silk Hat restaurant in Edmonton, AB. Old 50's diner with juke boxes at the booths. Too bad they fed me a half cooked hamburger and almost killed me with e-coli. I remember walking down the hall of the hospital, IV drip in tow, to the pay phone to explain why I wouldn't be coming in to work. When I got back they fired me because they said I was unreliable but I WAS IN THE FUCKING HOSPITAL. I should have sued them but I was young and foolish.

4. Garment mender in a factory- Gah. It was nasty. I don't even want to revisit that memory. Not even for the internet. Except to say that there was this crazy lady named Elaine, who ran the mending dept, who wore bright red lipstick and an outline of foundation everyday and squeezed the filters of her cigarettes until they were flat. She smoked compulsively except barely inhaled as she obviously was missing an esophagus given the sound of her voice. Either that or it was the booze. She had a beahive and she was an secret aristrocrat in a sweat shop. She taught me how to sew a zipper into a pair a pants in 5 minutes flat.

two birds kissing

I bought a tshirt on Haight that says 'Kiss Me I'm Loaded'. Since I don't really drink, I'm hoping people will infer that I'm cash heavy. Maybe the universe will be fooled and the pockets will get heavy. Oh, I don't know. Really I bought it because it says Kiss and I'm obsessed with the word. The girl who showed it to me had two birds tattooed on her arms and I thought they were lovely.

signs of love in San Fran

Walking down the Haight, I found myself behind these two. I snapped them and then caught their attention and showed them the photo. I told them I would put it up here as evidence of love found in the world.

love in San Fran

It was lovely. Lots of lovely things to see, find and photograph. Never enough time. Never strong enough leg muscles for those hills. I keep thinking I'll see massive gluts, but you don't. You see little old ladies pushing walkers and unfit hipsters trying to race up the Haight with their cruiser bikes, standing on the pedals, lungs going purple.

I also keep hoping I'll recognize Heather and Maggie but I never do.

Here's a link to my photos.

photobooth

The Apple store in San Fran has a funny little feature on one of its computers called the Photobooth. I need this.

strange packages for strangers in strange places

I got a message on my work phone today.

"Hi, this was the only number available. I'm calling from The Read Cafe, 158 Bedford. We received a small box, delivered last week. A small box, 5" wide and pretty much square. If you could give me a call back and let me know what to do with it or better yet, come in and get it. Thanks"

See, I was wondering what had happened. The thing is, I walked into this really great cafe when I visited New York recently. This one was in Brooklyn. It was like falling into a little peice of something familiar. As if I had lunch there many times before. A handsome fellow behind the counter took my order. He had on an old cap and and a apron over a sweater and there was just something that as I looked at him, reminded me of an old black and white photo.

Now I see that that could seem like a strange thing to say about anybody, but I mean it in the best possible way. I am attracted to nostalgia and the sentiments of the times past. The way that things seemed simpler, more honest and authentic in a black and white photograph. Something, I guess, human and revealing that I can see easier. So, having spent a few days walking around places like 5th and Park Avenues in NYC, this was much more appealing. So in fact, that I would have liked to chat a lot longer.

Ok..back to the message left on my phone. This particularly interesting individual took notice of my camera and commented that his had been stolen. When I got home and a friend (Sal) left his Canon SLR in my possession with no interest in having it back, I had this conversation...

Me: Sal, come and get your camera. I don't want it and I don't know anyone who does.

Sal: Donate it. Do whatever you want with it.

Me: Great. I know just the thing to do with it. I'm going to send it to Brooklyn.

So, because of that great afternoon, my immediate liking of the person who reminded me of something that I wish I saw more, I sent the camera and a note off to the store. And when it got there it sat unopened, perhaps neglected and waiting for its owner to arrive.

I had casually wondered if the unexpected presence of a camera from some chick had actually been too freaky. You know, that's the sad thing about random acts of kindness; that they're random (and sometimes results in skeptism.)

Instead of a call to explain the mysterious package, if I could go back to The Read to pick it up to hand over in person, believe me I would. That place had good soup, wobbly tables, and some witty banter of which made me just want to stay put till closing. I think I left saying something about getting caught in Williamsburg, after dark, without a map.

Thanks Lawrence for all of that. I hope you enjoy the camera.

eat your heart out Raincouver

For some reason, the Apple store in San Fran has free internet. It must have something to do with all the computers. It's not very conducive to shopping though as I obviously am not browsing. Like me, the 2 people on either side of me, are hunched over their screens, way more interested in the internet than Apple. It's a little odd to be blogging with people looking over my shoulder.

Very nice service and store though. Flashy. Glass. Lean.

It's a beautiful, sunny and warm day in San Fran. Big change from the gloomy, overcast, rainy day I left behind in Vancouver a few hours ago. I have 8 hrs, a camera with no limitations unless the batteries run out, a Visa card and a room at the Hilton.

Check ya later..

my favorite human being and his dog

take another piece of my heart

Had she lived, Janis Joplin would be 63 today.

The first time I ever heard of Janis, I was 13 and had wandered into a yard sale down the street from the house I lived in. It was the summer. I was thumbing through (and I remember this as though it was yesterday)a box of albums. Half way through, I came across Pearl, by Janis Joplin. This image of her grinning, with all these feather boas, on an ornate loveseat slammed into me like a lightning bolt. I was instantly and forever on constantly captivated with her image. I bought that album and I became obsessed with the 60's counterculture, the hippies, Haight-Ashbury and San Francisco.

I grew out of the latter interests, but never lost my facination for Janis. It has spurned trips to Port Arthur, Texas; her hometown, Austin where she started singing and of course San Francisco. My last trip to SF, I managed to talk my way into the house she owned in Larkspur at the time of her death. I will never forget climbing the loft ladders, running my hands over the original stone counter tops and standing in starstruck awe of her pool table. Breathing in the air as though I could breathe in something of her.

It's silly, I know. It's also unexplainable, even to myself. I just embrace it and let it run through me.

She was great. She was powerful and full of conviction to be true to herself. She was beautiful and raw and an intellectual. She was authentic and bold. Fearless in the beginning.

Coupe de Ville

A new favorite. Thanks Sal.

the bug, the fish, the tacos..

This is very pleasing and I found it at MightyGirl.

Cats & Dogs

Today, in Vancouver, it is the 26th consecutive day of rain. Apparently if it continues to rain through the next few days, which it will, we will break a record set in 1953. Half of the North shore is on evacuation watch in case the houses on the side of Mt. Cyprus decide to wash away. Anaylsts are saying the sale of umbrellas is going match the booming housing market and go through the roof. Can you buy stock in umbrella manufacturing? Geez, I'd better get on that.

The really startling part of all of this for me is that when someone mentioned that it had been 26 days in a row, I realized that I hadn't noticed. It's sort of sad that you get to a state where it rains so much that you don't even pay any attention to it anymore. Well, you know what they say about Vancouver, if you don't get a tan here, you'll rust.

Update:It stopped raining before we could break the record.

Wear a flower in your hair

I'll be in lovely San Francisco from Jan 22- 24. Watch for a new batch of photos.

Movieland Arcade on Granville St

Intrepid Traveller

My friend Christine just came back to Vancouver from a long stint in teaching English in Tokyo. It felt like she has been gone at least a year but she swears it's only been 6-7 months. I don't know about that. I think she's foolin.

Occasionally, over the last 'year' or so I would get included in a mass email of some wacky adventure she'd had or an everyday update. I could always tell she was super pressed for time as the emails would be a mash of words and half expressions correctly conveying the hectic frenzy of life in Tokyo. I always imagined she would be at some weird internet street KIOSK, perhaps portable, like a shoe shine stand for the internet. Her posts seemed to make me feel she never had quite enough quarters or yen or some sort of token that would permit her to write full ledgible sentences.

She's home. For now. Sweetly tattooed and harbouring some sort of germ hitchhiking its way around the world. She off on Thursday to rest up in Bangkok before venturing onwards into Thailand for more fun and adventures.

Me: When are you planing to come home?
Christine: Oh, 4 months or so. You know, unless some kind of opportunity comes up.

Opportunity sounded illicit and dangerous and her eyes twinkled.

We went to Joe's cafe. I photographed my coffee and my beautiful, adventurous friend Christine.

Bells and Whistles

I bought a new camera the other day. Trouble is, I just like to capture images and sometimes I do it well. I've never really enjoyed figuring out f-stops and shutter speeds. But I like fooling around zooming things in and adjusting the focus. So, I like cameras but all the bells and whistles... don't make music to me.

So, I have a fancy digital. Now, all I need to do is learn how to use it. Now I have to figure out megapixels and sizing and oh, I don't know, a whole bunch of things I guess. There's a bunch of buttons and dials and setting and software, and thick manuals. Lions and Tigers and Bears oh my. It's an intimidating piece of machinery. I keep forgetting to turn it on. I just want to take of the lens cover and take a picture.

Gah.

Beauty is in the Details

Last night I walked to my favorite coffee shop in the neighbourhood full of coffee shops. Joe's Cafe. Joe was a bullfighter in Portugal before he came to Canada to make the most stunning lates. It's worth the walk. So rich and creamy and most of all the visual presentation makes me want to gaze, admire and photograph my coffee instead of drink it.

By the way, that's Tony in the background in the photo. Tony, although not a former bullfighter, has been Joe's right hand man for many many many years. I believe he is the creator of the beautiful late pictured.

take a walk on the wild side

My New York photos are up. You can see them here.

on the lookout

Check out Pandora. The site that will play you music that it thinks you will like based on an entry of a artist or song you like.

Thanks to a neighbour for always being a link to something super cool. Now I have Janis Joplin Radio.

monsters in love

I started this blog as a continuum of a tshirt I once had made. The t shirt was a response to another tshirt I saw a young pretty girl wearing. It said 'Dump Him'. I was literally horrified at the message. I thought it was a sad message to display across your chest. Maybe it was funny when Britney Spears wore it when she broke up with Justin Timberlake but as a Tshirt for just your average day out as your everyday average person?

Visions of dump him, dump her, dump people, dump it all swirled in my head until I could stand it no longer and had to do something. That's the day I created the More Kisses Please tshirt, which turned into the More Kisses Please hoodie and then now this website.

Hurrah for More Kisses Please.