It's a big day for history buffs . . .

5509 BC - The world was created, according to the Byzantine Empire.

1653 - Johann Pachelbel born in Germany (d. 1706)

1854 - Engelbert Humperdinck (composer) born in Siegburg (d. 1921)

1875 - Edgar Rice Burroughs born in Chicago (d. 1950)

1887 - Emile Berliner filed for a patent for his invention of the lateral-cut, flat-disk gramophone. We know it better as the record player. Emile got the patent, but Thomas Edison got the notoriety for making it work and making music with his invention.

1905 - Alberta (the fine province I call home) and Saskatchewan (neighbour to the East) join the Canadian confederation.

1914 - The last Passenger Pigeon, a female named Martha, dies in captivity in the Cincinnati Zoo.

1939 - The start of World War II: Polish September Campaign - Nazi Germany invades Poland.

1951 - Nellie McClung, Canadian feminist, politician and social activist, dies in Victoria, B.C. at 77.

1974 - Jhonen Vasquez born in San Jose

Which Jhonen Vaquez character are you?

1977 - Singer Debbie Harry (of Blondie) signed a recording deal with Chrysalis Records. Chrysalis bought the group’s private stock label for $500,000. With the high visibility of the former Playboy Bunny, it was difficult to think of Blondie as a band, and not just Debbie Harry.

1980 - Terry Fox forced to stop Marthon of Hope in St. John's, Newfoundland after cancer returned and spread to his lungs. He started the run on April 12 and ran over 5000 Km across the country.

1982 - Canada adopts a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as part of its Constitution.

2006 - You learned something new! What was it?

55 flash (non)fiction friday

Missing . . .

like the cream in my coffee . . .

not quite right

like the staw on a juice box . . .

not as easy as it should be

like music on my walk to work . . .

quiet, yet unbearably noisey

like a day without laughter

or a night without stars

something is missing . . .

I can't put my finger on what

*EDIT* 55Flash Fiction Friday - Not feeling all that creative this morning...with a minor edit this post from last night can almost fit the guidelines, and this is my offering

Stupid Human Trick - HNT #35

Lime showed off her her ability to roll her tongue last week, and when I commented on being able to not only roll mine one way, but 2 ways, she challenged me to show it. I'm not one to back away from a challenge, so this week I present to you, my very own stupid human trick.










As Lime so elegantly displayed last week, I too can roll my tongue into an O shape by bringing the sides together . . . like so . . .







. . . but in addition to that, I can also roll my tongue from front to back. I have never met another person that can do this without using teeth or lips to keep the tongue in this possition . . . I'm not really sure what that says about me, maybe I'msome sort of mutant . . . if you want a closer look at this freakish contortion click the picture . . .

but be warned, mouths are really gross, and mine is no exception!

For more HNT tricks (probably a lot less stupid than this one) from other humans click these buttons -->

*EDIT* - I may have to ask all of you that say "I can do it too!" to show it off...like I said, I've never met anyone else that can.

Oh, and, YES, I can tie a cherry stem in a knot using only my tongue...Andy asked!

Feverish Fog

I spent the day on the couch wrapped in a sweat soaked blanket shivering like there was no tomorrow. My eyes cooking in their sockets, chills running through me and the fog of a fevered brain thinking all sorts of crazy things.
I hate being alone when I'm sick. It seems like having someone there...just in case...makes me feel just that little bit better. When jmk walked in the door just before 9:00 tonight I felt relieved...I summoned the strength to get off the couch and get some juice and some advil, and a couple of hours later the fever is starting to lift...
I hate being sick!

Musical Monday #2 - Local Girl

Keeping with my Canadian strategy for Musical Monday, I thought I would feature a Calgarian for my second post.

Leslie Feist, or just Feist as she is more widly known, got her musical start playing in a high school punk band, winning an opening spot for The Ramones in a 'battle of the bands' competition. I'm not a biographer, so if you want to know the whole story of how Feist went from not being able to sing to becoming one of the most well known Canadain singers today go here or to her website. Here is a point form list as I know it... In the window between her high school band opening for The Ramones in the early 90s and now, Feist has played with By Devine Right (who toured with The Tragically Hip), and Broken Social Scene, she lived with Peaches, has been featured vocally on Appostle of Hustle, Kings of Convenience, and Jane Birkin recordings . . . oh, and has released two albums Let It Die and and a remixes and Collaberative album Open Season. Busy girl!

I should maybe mention that I'm not a big fan of Feist's work as a general rule . . . then why the heck am I featuring her you might ask? Well, because the colabs and remixs are outstanding! Which is the album that today's song comes from. The liner notes include this little anecdote on the remix of Lonely Lonely:

Then, a few months into touring the album, someone in London frisbee'd an unmarked CD onto the stage. Later in my hotel, I listened to it as a pre-sleep nightcap. It was so bizarre and exciting to hear a song that we had so carefully dressed, be undressed and re-addressd, and put into clothes it would have never thought to wear on its own.

So, connecting little ol' me in Calgary, to Musical Monday's creator on London - Feist's Lonely Lonely [frisbee'd mix] from Open Season!


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*EDIT 7:12 am* - It seems that track just isn't going to play..at all...for whatever reason. So instead here is track 4 from the same album Gatekeeper [One Room One Hour mix]. There's no cute annecdote in the liner notes about this one, so I'll just let you have a listen and see for yourself...

Happy Monday all!


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*EDIT 6:52pm 9:02pm* I GOT IT!!! Okay, because I love you people so darn much (and it was really bugging me that I couldn't get the darn song to work), I have found an alternate means of bringing you the song I had originally wanted to post. This guy claims to be the source of the frisbee'd disk. He has this to say about this version...

See 'Open Season' by Feist for my remix of Lonely Lonely. But bear in mind that due to an error made in mastering, the remix is slower and lower in pitch than it should be.

I honestly prefer the mix on Open Season at about 90% this speed, but this gives a good feel for the track!

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Frisbeemusic myspace version


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Open Season version...takes a while to load, and I'll completely understand if you don't wait seems to be ok now?...I just had to figure it out for myself mostly!

Lazy Sunday Photo Prowl

It is such a beautiful day out, I just couldn't stay inside . . . So I went out to play!
Less than 3 hours . . . 305 photos . . . I usually take at least 2 shots of everything just to be sure . . . so lets cut that number to 150 . . . and let's assume that only about 25% of that is actually worth seeing . . . that means I should have somewhere around 35-40 pictures to show off ...Yay!

More...

12:34

My favorite time of day...
I'm spending my lazy Sunday taking my camera for a walk...

villainous exchange

Tybalt: Romeo, the love I bare thee can afford no better term than this: thou art a villain.

Romeo: Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee doth much excuse the appertaining rage to such a greeting. Villain am I none. Therefore farewell. I see thou knowest me not.



This exchange has been playing out within my mind all evening . . . I have not read Romeo & Juliet in many years, yet I still remember it verbatum. . .that is all.

This is the end...

*Edit* - I never thought about how that could sound when I was posting this...sometimes I'm just not very smart (but I think I may have mentioned this before)...

anyway, this is the end... not the end of me or the end of my online personna...just the end...it's funny...no really - it is!

55 Flash Fiction Friday

Her favorite song starts up the familiar drum beat into her earphones and she walks with an extra bounce. The walk home will be different today, there is someone waiting for her. The sun is shining, the music is humming, and her heart is racing. She smiles, clicks her heels and picks up the pace.


Susie is the mastermind gracious Friday hostess behind 55Flash Fiction Friday...go see her to find out what it's all about!

I love Fridays like this!

The client I've been working so diligently to meet a deadline for just called and completely cleared my plate for me...

Don't worry about finishing that one, we'll take care of it...just get
started on the next one...but no hurry...

Am I dreaming?
Why can't all Friday's be like this?

Photo Cube

I saw this over at Jericho's and I wanted one too!

PANDORA says...

Today's soundtrack...

mellow rock instrumentation / folk influences / a subtle use of vocal harmony / mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation / a vocal-centric aesthetic / minor key tonality / a good dose of acoustic guitar pickin' / pedal steel guitars / electric pianos / acoustic rhythm guitars / solo strings / classic rhodes sound

Want to listen to what I am...type Great Lake Swimmers into PANDORA...ENJOY!

Temptation - HNT #34

"Did perpetual happiness in the Garden of Eden maybe get so boring that eating the apple was justified?" ~Chuck Palahniuk

Oh, I know I might be stepping on more than a few toes with this one . . . oops!

Have you ever felt so discontent with the way things are that the only way to shake things up would be a huge drastic change? Well, that's how I'm feeling right now . . . BOARD . . . everything seems so stale around me . . .

Work is dull - three years being told that better projects are going to be starting soon is a little more than I can take...when I've been working away on the same types of boring things for that whole time . . .

My home life is dull - On Monday it will be 18 months that Mr J. has been living in a different city. Sometimes it's hard to remember that I supposedly have this person to share my life with, and that has become the normal way of things...it's weird to have him around now (sorry if he's reading this...which I know he's not...) . . .

Calgary is dull - I want to get out and explore this dust ball we call Earth. How do people in other parts of the world live, what music do they listen to, how do they occupy their spare time, what food do they eat . . . Calgary is a fairly multicultural city, but I want to see these places first hand, smell the air, see the culture . . .

I want to give into the temptations that my mind has cooked up . . .

. . . but I'm scared.

Happy HNT to all, and to all a good night

These buttons are fun to push, you should try it...you never know, you might just find something inspiring -->

*Edit* - The apple was rotten to the core...hope that's not some sort of sign...

Outside my window

it's raining and the sun is shining . . . at the same time!

I love that!

I rock . . . Completely!

So, the arduous task of pairing down the vibrant Canadian music scene to fit onto a single 80 minute CD that I took on over a month ago is completed! Yea for me!

hot wheels

The boss drove his wife's Morgan today. He goes on and on about how I look like a flapper with my new hair, so we completed the image...

I wish I had that kind of time!

I was hit last night by the masked anonymous spam commenter. Even with word verification, there were 14 comments linking me to dozens of porn sites awaiting me this morning. If I had that much free time I'm sure I could come up with something better to do!

Musical Monday - The first

The time has come, the Walrus said... for me to join WDKY's Musical Monday.

Although I have been a regular follower for a while, I have been reluctant to join into the musical show & tell myself, and I'm not entirely sure why...so, now is the time!

The past couple of weeks have found me busily going through hundreds of tracks, looking for just the right combination to accurately portray the state of music in Canada (here's why). I have decided if I am to participate in this wonderful music sharing venture, then I will continue in this vein, and bring the spotlight to Canadian musicians. And to start, the band that is easily (in my opinion) the hottest thing going in Canada right now - Wolf Parade.

Originally based in Victoria, Wolf Parade make their home in Montreal now, a city synonymous with indie music in Canada, nay, North America. Signed in 2005 to the infamous SUBPOP label by Modest Mouse front man Isaac Brock, Wolf Parade have a full length and a EP available (as well as a couple of less available independent releases), and are supposedly working on their second full length. I recently (last Wednesday!) missed the opportunity to see them live (6 blocks from my apartment), and have not quite fully recuperated from that devastating blow...

This foursome is often grouped in with Modest Mouse and fellow Canadians The Arcade Fire, but unlike these groups whose music is often difficult to listen to and are (in my opinion) highly overrated, Wolf Parade's raw energy has afforded their debut Apologies to the Queen Mary a spot in my regular music rotation.

So, with out anymore of my droning on and on...track #2 Modern World


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Autumn is on the way

it's only 9:38 pm and it's already dark out
the days are getting sorter
the leave have begun to fall off the trees
the days where the temperature reaches 20+ degrees are numbered
soon the trees will be bare
soon the wind will be cold
soon the mornings will be dark
soon the snow will start to fall

Weekend in pictures

A whirlwind of weekend, when nothing particularly exciting happened.

Mr. J. was home this weekend. He arrived home Friday evening and we went to explore the local Fringe Festival happening a few blocks from my apartment. The highlight of the night was pizza at the Wicked Wedge (whole wheat crust, spinach, grilled chicken, feta...yum!) and a arial show...no photos unfortunately due to the untimely demise of my camera batteries.


Saturday... an early breakfast at the hottest diner in town (I say the hottest due to the line that will greet you if you don't make it there early), and an afternoon spent cleaning the apartment...oh what fun! Not terribly exciting, but something that desperately needed to be done...you should see how shiny my kitchen is!!! Then Mr. J took me out and bought me brand new dishes. I have wanted to get rid of my old ones for a long time, and he said he owed me a birthday present (he had planned on making me something, but hasn't found the time yet). Now my cupboards are filled with shiny new white dishes! The sun was shining and we decided to take advantage of it by having dinner and beer at a local pub known city wide as having the best patio for summer - The Ship & Anchor. A couple of beers in and Mr. J starts to think he's indestructible...

This morning Mr. J. went to the grocery store and bought the fixings for a divine breakfast . . . look at the lovely new dishes! Scrambled eggs with BBQ sausage, sauted mushrooms, avocado and homemade salsa with tortillas (instead of toast).

After breakfast we headed out for a walk. I looked it up and I think we covered about 10Km... along the Elbow River Pathway




So much to see . . .

Suspension bridge over the Elbow River


Art on the pathway


. . . oh and hear. Mr. J sneezes like crazy when it's sunny out...it's really something to witness!

ass or top

Mr J. asked today, which would get more hits when googled...
"ass over tea kettle" or "top over tea kettle"
the answer is ass with 956 as opposed to top's meager 18... now I know!

Appreciation

I just received an email from Vince Vaccaro's guitar player, personally thanking me for buying not 1 but 2 copies of Vince's debut and sharing it, and for writing the little review that I wrote...that's pretty neat.

One word

Describe me in ONE WORD...just one word!
Send it to me only, and then send this message to your friends and see how many strange things people say about you!

I received this as a request via email this morning, and immediately thought 'I like words!' So I promptly sent out the same request to all of my friends. The responses have started to come in, and some of them are really amusing...

• unique
• mousey (thanks OS!)
• compassionate
• sensual
• pinkist (I'm not convinced this is a real word JB!)
• Sister-friend (it's a hyphenated word)
• indescribable

want to play along too?

Describe me in ONE WORD!



*that's about all the brain power I have on this Friday morning...

WEB PIX

I have been invited to join an international group of bloggers on the photo collective WEB PIX...that's pretty darn exciting I think. I was completely shocked by the invitation, and overwhelmingly flattered. There are 29 contributers including myself, and there are pictures being added many times a day...check it out, there's always something new and beautiful to see.

Not quite Tomato Soup, but... - HNT #33

Ok, I know it isn't nearly as alluring as my David Laity interpretation, but a few people mentioned that my HNT #31 post week before last reminded them of a Warhol...and thus inspired this...

Perhaps not the most nekkid thing going, but sometimes that's just the way of it...c'est la vie! It was meant to be last weeks HNT (following the one that brought it up), but as I said then the moment demanded something different. This was, of course, inspired by Warhol's Che Guevara, 1962

If for some bizarre reason you don't know what's going on here every Thursday --> and -->

I knew it was time to clean out the fridge...

...but I had no idea there were extinct spiecies lurking about in there.

I opened the fridge last night to make some dinner and found this (jmk must have bought it). It made me laugh...what's so funny about lunch meat? When Lurch was here last month he commented on having a bison burger for dinner one night, and how he had thought they were extinct...the result, was hilarious coldcuts!

I promptly put it back where it was found, because, as you can see, this beast is fresh, although not really something you'd find in my fridge if I didn't have a roommate.

I'm a bad sister

I was startled out of a daydream this morning by my brother's voice on the other side of the door..."Are you almost done in there?"...he's sick - I'll spare you the gory details, but it's pretty bad. I don't really deal well with sickness, my own, or others... and the thought of him possibly having a bug (although it's likely something he ate) and me getting it freaks me out (I have been vomit free for over 10 years)...that combined with my ridiculous work load right now (truth be told it was 98% work load) I didn't make it home until after 7:30 tonight...and he needed me, he was afraid this might mean another trip to the hospital (he was hospitalized a few years ago for e-coli) and that was freaking him out...My heart broke when I saw him...I let him down, I let work get in the way of life, and I let him down...I'm a bad sister!
He's probably going to read this and be upset with me...sorry jmk, I feel like I could have done better...sorry

chained to my desk...

How do deadlines sneak up like that . . . one day it seems like everything is going smooth and there will be no trouble getting things out on time . . . and then . . . suddenly . . . YIKES!!! . . . it's due when???

Needless to say I have a looming deadline at work...harumph!

Caffine is my friend! . . . my strong, hot friend, who makes my hands shake and gives me butterflies in the stomach . . . but not in that good way!

A love story

Once upon a time there was a young man and a young woman who had been dating for a short time (3-4 months I think). The young man was go to the city to become a mechanic...

She said "So, you're moving away?"
He said "yes"
She said "oh, ok..."
He said "...you could come with me?"
She said "oh, could I?"
He said "you could come as Mrs. K"
She laughed...thought he was joking
He cried
She realized he was serious
She said "yes"

My mom & dad were married August 16th, 1973. She wore a blue mini dress she bought at a bargin basement shop for $5, and carried a single red rose with a white ribbon. He wore a suit that had been left in the backseat when he was driving taxi. She had just turned 19, he was 22. There were 5 people in attendance. The bride, the groom, 2 witnesses and the officient.

On Wednesday, they will be married 33 years

(I know this is not really a great picture of them, but it is the only recent picture I have of both of them where one isn't making a face or blinking)

My parents' love story has always been an inspiration to me.

It's ok...I'm cute!

Sometimes, I'm just not very smart!

As many of you know, I have been tracking a street artist(s) through the city for awhile now. Some of the pieces have the initials 'tmc' on them, which had always seemed frustratingly familiar to me, and then I found some with 'tender mountain clan', which I suppose is the 'tmc', but it just didn't seem like that was why it was familiar...

It hit me today! TMC are also my initials...not my actual initials, but my pseudonym initials - The Melody Censor...

Like I said, sometimes, I'm just not very smart, but it's ok, because I'm cute!...Right?

sex trade worker

...the politically correct term for the girls in the clear heeled shoes and the boys who walk with a carefully practiced sashay, who stand on the corner of Justgotpaid Avenue and Gottogetsome Street not looking for love...

Noah Epp's Ride for the Cure

Calgary boy Noah Epp is riding his bike from the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary to the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton to raise mone to help find a cure for cancer...That's 300km in two days...He's nine years old!

Read his story or make a donation

walk in the rain

Yesterday's lunch hour found me taking my head full of random thoughts (and oh! what thoughts they were...) out for a walk in the rain. I love walkig in the rain, I find it envigorationg. And utterly inspiring... I took 106 photos in less than 45 minutes...

Some graffiti...
More for the collection

Some beautiful flowers...
The neighbourhood surrounding my office is filled with beautiful, well kept old homes, that have wonderful gardens. There's just something about a flower with rian drops on it that appeals to me...

and some sculpture...
I walk past these intersting pieces everyday. They are in front of the fine arts middle school across the street from my office. I remember when they were put out there, a few at a time over the course of a couple of weeks...some have fallen into disrepair, some have gone missing all together...Strange that I have not photgraphed them until now...

2 sides to every story - HNT #32

I had my HNT image for today almost ready to go, when I was struck with a brand new notion this morning...this one seems much more apropot for the week+ that I have had... so that one will have to wait.

The mouse has been making herself known the last while... For those of you who may not know, the mouse is the operations manager in charge of my frontal lobe - she runs the show for the most part, sometimes handing the helm over to the cockroach (who gets me into all manner of trouble!), and very infrequently, the mosquito (lord help us when that guy is in charge!)... she's a cute little thing, white, with a little accountant's visor and glasses, a little hyperactive perhaps... but I digress...

The mouse has been very vocal for the last week(ish). Throwing temper tantrums, giving me headaches, keeping me awake at night, day dreaming (this isn't a bad thing!), and otherwise running amok with my schedule - it's like she wants to be in complete control or something!... So this image (a remnant of last weeks photos) seems to fit the mood.

*Edit*
Schadeboy called in a ruling...

"Are you saying you have named the different parts of your brain? Or are these
different "modes of operation" so to speak? "

The frontal lobe is the command center for the entire brain, and where the office is located, the mouse is the manager, but on sick days or when I'm up too late for her to cope without her beauty rest, the cockroach takes over...the mosquito is a temp I think, he's not really sure what is going on most of the time and works so rarely he might as well not even be on the payrole...

Hope that clears things up...or maybe you now all think me a bit soft in the head?

Laws (I normally don't post this sort of thing)

My sister sent this to me this afternoon...it made me giggle uncontrollably...I may realize tomorrow that it was actually sleep deprivation that made me laugh so, but until that point...enjoy! or don't...suit yourself

Law of Mechanical Repair: After your hands become coated with grease,your nose will begin to itch or you'll have to pee.

Law of the Workshop: Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Law of Probability: The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.

Law of the Telephone: If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal.

Law of the Alibi: If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.

Variation Law: If you change lanes, the one you were in will start to move faster than the one you are in now (works every time).

Law of the Bath: When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.

Law of Close Encounters: The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

Law of the Result: When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

Law of Biomechanics: The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

Law of the Theatre: At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrive last.

Law of Coffee: As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

Murphy's Law of Lockers: If there are only two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.

Law of Rugs/Carpets: The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich landing face down on a floor covering are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet/rug.

Law of Logical Argument: Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.

Brown's Law: If the shoe fits, it's ugly.

Oliver's Law: A closed mouth gathers no feet.

Wilson's Law: As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it.

In a city facing two problems, the destruction of nine homes doesn't sit well with me...

Calgary is a young city.

Younger than its 112 year status as a city would have anyone believe. Why is that? Well, in part it is due to the destruction of virtually every building over a certain age in the city. And the street a block from my office is to be no exception to that fact.

Nine houses, built when this fair city was just a mere 30 something (my Architect co-workers guessed 1920-30 for the date of these homes), have run their corse as dwelling units and are being asked to step aside gracefully to make way for a higher occupant load condominium unit. This is an ever growing trend in Calgary, because a suprisingly low percentage of the population lives downtown, while a somewhat large population works there every day. And, although I knew this was to happen - I even looked into buying one of the units for myself - walking past the construction fence this afternoon made my heart sink lower than than shallow foundations of those very doomed houses.


oh, and expect more on this...it seems to have struck a chord

up past my bed time...again

tossing and turning
hour follows hour
minutes tick on
insomnia
indisposition
insomnolence
stress
tension
i can't sleep
yet i can't stay awake
dreams in a half-state of sleep
not unpleasent dreams

restlessness

sleeplessness

it's too hot for blankets

yet i need the comfort to lull me

the weight of the blanket is good

until the heat catches up

if I fall asleep now, I'll get # hours of sleep...

wakefulness

i can't sleep

yet i can't stay

...awake...

It really IS Tuesday

Sun comes up, it's Tuesday morning
hits me straight in the eye
guess you forgot to close the blind last night
Oh, that's right, I forgot, it was me
~Cowboy Junkies

I woke up with this in my head this morning...and it actually is Tuesday! I love long weekends, but I hate the Tuesday after more than a regular Monday...oh well, only 4 days left to go until the weekend

constructive weekend

As I mentioned, The long weekend was very productive for one of the projects I have been following.

There is a local street artist (or perhaps a group of artists) that has been nailing wooden cut-out paintings all over town. Some of you may know about these from my photo blog (here, here, and here). This weekend I found a plethora of new (or at least new to me) items from this inspiring artist. I have been tracking them for about 5 months in several areas of the city, and put a message in last week's I saw you section of the weekly free newspaper (FFWD) ...with no response, however. So, my next step is to put up flyers in the hopes that the artist(s) will spot one of them and contact me...there are so many questions that I have...and in the off chance that someone that knows somethig about them should come across this post...email me!

Also, I am setting up another blog devoted stricklty to the street art in and around Calgary. I spend much of my time out and about looking up, down, sideways etc in hopes of spotting some hidden treasure and this site will exhibit the finds thus far. Street Art - Calgary

re-group

I spent the entire day yesterday with the two people that know me the best (other than family members - although, I have known them so long they are practically family by this point). Mr. J (that guy that lives here with me sometimes) and Miss J(best friend since we were 7 years old). The day was nice...we went to a local dinner well known for thier breakfast before heading out for a trek on one of the city's hiking trails. also taking in some time on a patio for drinks/dinner and a movie (A Scanner Darkly)...

It was good to be around them. It seems so long since I have spent such (brace yourselves I'm going to use a bad cliche here) quality time with either of them, and I had them both to myself for the whole day!

It helped.

I feel more grounded today and more like me than I have in a long time (as long as I don't start thinking about anything too seriously...). I feel good.

Yesterday was also very productive in terms of one of the projects I have been following...more to come on that one...

You too, can have your very own 'Miss J.' doll...

The alarm clock goes off...

it's 6:30 am.
The air in the room is so chilly I've got the duvet tucked right up to my chin. Fresh. Clean. Autumn air

... wait?...

Autumn air?!? It's only the 4th of August! Why does the air smell like...

...dare I say it...
...dare I mention the s word this early in the year...

...but it does, there is a definite hint ofthe smell of snow coming in with the air this morning...I throw back the covers, give a little shiver and find my robe... brrr...
Then I stop, think, why is this not getting me down - I hate winter.

Because this is not winter...
no!
can't be yet...
too early!

I'm eaither very good at denial, or my good mood has got me fooled this morning.

the rain starts to fall...

and as the drops come down, my spirit comes up...and balance can once again be gained.

wants of a melancholy mouse

i want to travel, see the world
i want to have great expereinces
i want to run away from home...I'm 28 years old, and answer only to myself, yet i still want to flee

i want to learn to play the banjo - yes the banjo
i want to be the nude in a drawing class...but am afriad of what people will see

i want to do some thing great and/or meaningful...but i don't know what or how, nor do i posses the means

i want both the reality and the fantasy
i want to travel back in time to make things...right

i want...

i want to be financially secure
i want to do something that i enjoy for a living without the doubt of

'did i make the wrong decision'...

i want to know if i made the wrong decision

i want to enjoy my spare time instead of fretting over things and making myself crazy
i want ... to be happy more than i am now

i want to know who did these

i want to be a better girlfriend...

daughter...
sister ...
friend...

... because i hate losing touch with people

i...want need to be free of this grey cloud

how well can you know me

he asked me to tell him something that he doesn't know about me. i couldn't think of anything. is it possible that he knows all ther is to know about me. how could he when i don't feel like i know myself very well at all. at least not today. is it possible to ever know everything about another person. especially in such a short time. it's only been 8 1/2 years...only?

Too many random thoughts - HNT #31

I feel like my head can't contain all the thoughts zooming around in there.


Is this where headaches come from?

I need to...

focus...

re-group...

meditate...

be calm...

relax...







"I wasn't going to stand out here listening to those quarrelling voices in my head. If I wasn't crazy - and I didn't think I was - listening to those contentious assholes would probably send me there, and by the express." ~Stephen King


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My very own!

I know it's a simple little thing, but it brought me such joy...
My Exploding Dog anthology arrived in my mail yesterday, a very exciting event all on it's own. Adding to that excitement was the autograph on the inside cover. Well, not the autograph itself, it is just a signature after all, but the accompanyment to said autograph...my very own Sam Brown stick figure! Yay for me!!!

Anagram generator - tee hee

TYpe in a phrase and it will generate 100s of anagrams - here's a few of the funny ones...

original: Mouse in the brain

• Mountains beer hi
• Miniature snob eh
• Intrusion bee ham
• Inebriate hum son
• Inebriate mush on
• Hibernate i'm on us
• Hereabouts i'm inn

Rain or Shine: The show must go on

AHhhh... Folk Fest 2006 - what can be said about it?
So much!
Where to start?
The food (over 20 varieties of yummy fare), the shopping (nearly 36 vendors from across the country and beyond), the entertainment (oh so much more than music at this music festival),
the weather (oh boy, the weather!), or the obvious - the music! Let's start there shall we???



65 acts from 19 countries!
Artist in red I managed to catch at least a few minutes of: Amir Amiri trio, Andrew Elliott, Ani Difranco, Ari Up VS Dubblestandart, Aurelio Martinez, Back of the Moon, Bedouin Soundclash, Broken Social Scene, D Rangers, Daby Touré, Dan Bern, Dar Williams, Dave Alvin, Doug Cox & Sam Hurrie, Eliseo Parra, Eliza Gilkyson, Ellen McIlwaine & Cassius Khan, Elliott Brood, Eric Moschopedis, Erynn Marshall & Chris Coole, Feist, Frigg, Galant Tu Perds ton Temps, Grant Rogers, Great Lake Swimmers, Groupo Fantasma, House of Doc, Howie Miller, Jay Cocker & His Electric Apes, Jeff Healy's Jazz Wizards, Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies, John Boutté, Kathleen Edwards, Kris Demeanor & His Crack Band, Kris Kristofferson, La Raquette À Claquettes, Leroy "The Grandmaster" Young, Little Axe, Lorrie Matheson, Luke Doucet, Macy Gray, Madrigaϊa, The Mammals, Masaji, Matthew Good, Melissa McClelland, Ndidi Onukwulu, Niyaz, Rachelle Van Zanten, Robbie Fulks, The Roches, Romi Mayes, Ronnie Hayward, Rubinchik's Yiddish Ensemble, Salt, Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band, Son Volt, Sorrow Bound, Stephen Fearing, Stew, Tanya Tagaq, That 1 Guy, The Ridgetop Syncopators, Tim Hus, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt & Salil Bhatt with Ramkumar Mishra
40 acts in 4 days (and some of these artists I saw multiple times too!) - that's pretty good I think!!!
Lots of good, and some not so good. As with the previous years, I have come away with a list of music to look into as, well as additions to the CD collection (Elliott Brood, Kathleen Edwards, Tanya Tagaq, Salt, and That 1 Guy for Mr. J)

There were some definite (good) surprises too...

That 1 Guy (San Francisco) - who plays intrumentent he mahimselfelf dubbed 'the magic pip'. A 7' length galvanizedzed pip fitted with a base sting, a tenor sting and more switches, triggers and knobs than I care to keep track of, all hooked up to a mixing board and laptop presumable, and amplified, accompanied by his voice (rather stranlyricsics) a high hat and a bass drum. the ultimate in 1 man band shows! And he just so happens to be on Righteous Babe records (founded by the goddess of folk herself Miss Ani Difranco - for those of you that missed that) .

Elliott Brood (Toronto) - I've never heard of a music genre known as 'Death Country" before this weekend, but I couldn't think of a better type of music if I tried. My sister agrees that if there were a way to summarize all the things I like about music into one genre it would have to be this one...not that it could really be that simple...but the thought was fun for five minutes on Saturday afternoon. They put on a great show and also incorporate unique sounds into therepatoiroir (ie an suitcase addition to the drummer's kit).

Great Lake Swimmers (Toronto) - If you like beautiful, sad songs this is the next CD you should buy. It's going to be the next one I buy on account og the record tent being completely sold out by the time I made it there. Lead singer Tony Dekker's beautifully sad lyrics and spin tingling voice sold me the second he opened his mouth. Dar Williams actually asked him if his mother crevery timeime she heahimims sing - the answer is 'um...no'. And here's a fun little fact, the name for the 3 piece band comes from Tony having swam all of the great lakes.

Tanya Tagaq (Nunanvut) - Trained by her mother in the traditional art of Inuk Throat Singing, (which involves two women singing face to face), she found herself without a partner to sing with when she went away to school, and began experimenting with her own voice manipulation with the help of a DJ. The sound is completely unique, wonderfully inspiring, and utterly primal sounding. She has worked with Bjork, and toured with the Kronos Quartet last winter. I don't know what sort of mood her music is going finally find a home in for my musical background of my life, but I was so captivated with her live performance that I couldn't resist.

Here is a beautiful moment from Sunday night. The rain started to let up near the end of Matt Good's set, and he invited the Luke Doucet band out to join him for an acoustic cover of Trent Reznor's Hurt. It was a near perfect moment. My memory card was almost full so I didn't get the whole thing, but I think it captured the spirit of the evening nicely...except it's hard to hold tcamera'sers still when you're shivering, so it's a bit shaky.

And some random pictures from the weekend for your viewing pleasure...















I may or may not post more later, but I think I covered the most important bits...