Flare & Glare

Any time I see something like this I try to get a record of it. These reflections and light flares always remind me of smoke hanging in the air of a still room.

They appear at odd times and in strange places. I like the randomness of them, the range in intensity of their tones, the shapes they create.....

I think I've put this one out there before but thought it worth repeating. It reminds me of the sudden burst of light when a meteor steaks across the sky... which always elicits that deeply drawn breath and an 'Oooohhhhh!!'.

Beauty is where you find it. Translucent plankton floating by in the ocean depths, perhaps?? The Northern lights shapeshifting across the Arctic skies?? What do you see??

Another 'Wordle'

I decided to have another go at Wordle. They have a feature that captures random words from your blog to generate a word cloud. Pretty cool. For a look at it full-sized check this link:
http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/791925/random_blog_sample_words by Anonymous_Norm.

They ask that all images be attributed to them at http://www.wordle.net/ and I don't mind obliging them.

... and of course you can go the other route and feed it words of your own choosing. Have fun.

Musical Naivete

Although I have, and always have had, an insatiable interest in music there are some forms that I've never had much exposure to. For instance... opera. Everything I know about opera could comfortably dance a polka on the head of a pin. I never could see the point to the seemingly 'extreme singing' nature of it. So, imagine my surprise a couple of weeks ago, when I found myself picking one out for myself at the library. Granted it was written by a composer I like and appreciate - Phillip Glass - but still; me listening to an OPERA??? (btw, it's titled 'The Voyage') It took a while to find the opportunity and open frame of mind to listen to it but last night and tonight it's been in the CD player. Gotta say - not bad.... though I don't expect I'll ever have a full appreciation for the genre as a whole.

For some examples of Glass' other instumental music; click on the link; hit the 'listen/watch' tab; make selections in the right hand panes. I enjoyed 'The Hours' and 'Etudes'.

http://www.philipglass.com/music/index.php

To-Do List - Get some music training and education.

Good Intentions

Really, I did..... intend to write tonight. But I got hung up catching up on all the blog posts of friends and following trails ad infinitum. Mea culpa.

Yesterday, Saturday, was beautiful here. Sunny and verging on hot at 25C (which if memory serves is around 80F). I spent the day outside in the yard, cleaning up the garage and sorting out my tool box, and BBQ-ing for our company that arrived part way through the afternoon. Then Lynda and I had a quiet evening checking out episode 4 of 'Spectacle', Elvis Costello's interview and music show. This one was with James Taylor and once again was quite good. (My memory is fuzzy but I think it's being broadcast in the US on the Sundance Channel.) I missed the debut show with Elton John and Elvis' wife Diane Krall but did see #2 with the Police, and #3 featuring singer-songwriters Kris Kristofferson, Roseanne Cash, John Mellancamp and Norah Jones. From posts I've seen I understand the series has already shown in the UK and Australia.

In reference to an earlier post, my niece lasted 2 days and 1 night at the detox before begging, pleading and promising anything to her Mom in order to get out of there. Too much 'dead time' doing nothing and too many creepy people for her liking. She's over the acute stage of withdrawal and is continuing well at home. She and I have had a couple of chats on the phone and she says she never wants to take another pill in her lifetime. Good attitude! Once she is over the worst she has a standing invitation to go stay with her brother out west in order to get away from her connections. The plan is to head there in a few weeks.

Re: an even earlier post - I did finally get out the markers I had bought and doodled around for an hour or two to try to try and get loosened up a bit. Checking out the colours and seeing what happened when they were overlayed. I'm not sure they are what I was looking for as you can't lighten a dark colour when you draw over it - it just becomes more opaque and darker still. We'll see; I have to get used to the limitations and play some more. I haven't been able to track down my India ink and pens yet so there might be a trip to an art supply store, in store. Came up with a few of my brushes though! Must get going on some line drawing.

Spring Has Sprung

This entire week has been a write-off for doing anything outside - unusually cold, revolving cloudiness, showers and wind driven rain. During the night a warm front moved in along with much warmer temps so I'm heading out to spend the balance of the day working around the yard.

We have two, count'em 2, tulips that have blossomed and another 15 or so to go. The irises and peonies are colouring up and have healthy looking shoots and spikes - the peonies are a rich burgundy. Same with the finer branches on the birch and willow trees along with their leaf buds. Apparently the birch branches are a tasty treat; Milo is stripping down the ones he can jump to and munching on them like crazy.

The forecast called for a high around 70F today but being so close to Lake Ontario we might make it to 65F. Tomorrow they're calling for closer to 80F - pretty crazy in that our night-time lows have been around freezing. We're right on a seeming boundary between some harsh cold to the north and warmer fronts pushing up from the south. As that boundary wavers so does our local weather.

That P.D. day yesterday was mildly entertaining and very informative regarding the various pies we find ourselves investing in besides front-line addiction treatment. Despite the economic situation we're expanding services in every direction - family programming, expansion of post treatment services, expanding our catchment area, on-line contact services. If anyone is interested in seeing our re-designed website I can send you a link - it's a major upgrade and very informative.

Later ..... I'm off to enjoy some of this rare and elusive sunshine.

Happy Earth Day

Everybody pitch in!!

Busy times - trying to help a relative get their daughter into detox for her problem with pain meds. Started out on T3's, moved up to Perc's and then onto Oxy's right up to the 80 mg doses. Not a nice withdrawal syndrome associated with that.

Lots of short trips in and out of the house - things are a bit fractured. Tomorrow I attend a company Professional Development Day north of Toronto; it ought to be interesting.

Friday is DREAD Day - we're going to get our taxes done. Aarrrggghhh!!! The pain of it all... I'll be paying again I'm sure. If I get any sleep between now and then I'll be lucky. Anticipation...

I hope everyone is having a good week. I'll have something more to say when I get some time.

Big Snooze

Seeing as I knew I had a big day coming up Sunday I took it very easy Saturday night at work... well once I got a couple of anxious clients settled down and off to their beds. The blogs were quiet and I didn't particularily feel like writing. Once my shift was over it was straight home and into bed for a quick nap. I had about three hours sleep before getting up for the day to attend our companies annual volunteer recognition banquet. It was a chance to get re-acquainted with staff from our other two centres as well as rub elbows with senior management, the board members and donors. It was a 'feel-good experience' all round..... some deserving individuals were recognized for their efforts, we all got some good food to eat and there were a few speeches to listen to. Thankfully they were brief and to the point. The organizers also arranged for a stand-up comic to come in and do a 20 minute set - the gal had a good deal of fun at our expense; a bunch of retired alkies and druggies.

Once home Lynda and I enjoyed a very quiet evening of TV and hit the sack real early. Aahhh... snoozefest time..... a remarkable 13 hours between the sheets. Guess I needed it but lord I was creaky getting up after all that time lying down.

Today is off to a REAL slow start. It is clean-up, catch-up, 'get back in the swing of things' day. Tonight I chair my home group meeting again and have my speaker lined up. Lousy wet weather today so I hope he shows up.... Right now it's time to put some grub on for dinner so I can eat and get myself out of here. Later......

Word Cloud

Here, courtesy of the folks at http://www.wordle.net/, is a word cloud I put together for my A. A. home group 'crew'. It includes points and concepts related to 12 Step recovery through the Alcoholics Anonymous program.
In the Wordle gallery it can be found as 'A. A. Reflections'.

Photo Sharing

Daughter S in a self portrait showing off her beautiful blue eyes.

Her son Z looking positively luminous.

G'son O jammin' it out and looking good doing it. (This one is for Exquisite Emma)

Sound Waves

Courtesy of the local public library's collection here is what I'm listening to lately:

The Verve - 'Forth' (2008) http://www.parlophone.co.uk/forth/ here for audio samples.

Jack Johnson - 'Sleep Through The Static' (2008)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFaC07WEubA&feature=related
for video track "What You Thought You Need'.

Melanie Doane - 'A Thousand Nights' (2008) http://www.melaniedoane.com/music.htm webpage

Ron Sexsmith - 'Exit Strategy of the Soul' (2008)
http://www.ronsexsmith.com/music/discography/cd/ron_AlbumDetails.aspx?albumid=bb89ec22-899e-4b22-bf01-4f441950d633 webpage

Something for us older folks - Joe Cocker's 'Heart & Soul' (2005)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_Cp8l396Lw performing U2's 'One'.

.... and something completely different for me... an opera by Philip Glass titled 'The Voyage' (2006)
http://www.philipglass.com/music/compositions/voyage.php webpage

There's some link love for you.

Signs of Spring II

A month or six weeks ago Venus and Mars disappeared from the western horizon before dusk. Now driving home in the morning I see they have reappeared on the eastern horizon in the hour before dawn. Jupiter is a bit higher in the sky slightly to the south-east.

The greenbelt behind the house has been covered with flocks of robins. One day I stopped counting after I got as far as 25. A pair of stubborn mourning doves sat unmoving in the driveway as I arrived home yesterday morning. I continue to spot quite a number of hawks; mainly red-tails. This past week has seen the return of turkey vultures. Tonight while getting ready to come to work I heard Lynda hollering at me to come out to the yard. Thinking something must be wrong with one of the dogs I hustled out there only to find her pointing skyward. 'Check this out!' A group of three had passed directly overhead and soared to the eastern end of the greenbelt.... wheeled about back in our direction again and were joined by two more. They passed by again heading across the tracks and out over the golf course. None of them flapped a wing so much as once.

Today was the first day in awhile that the wind direction had changed from being out of the north. By the time I was up for the day the temperature was up around 50F and by dinner time perhaps 55F. I had heard the forecast driving home in the morning and got some steaks out for dinner. Good choice - first BBQ of the season before coming to work tonight. Daylight hours are lengthening and we must be up to about 13 hours now. The lawn is greening up; shoots are, well, shooting up all over the gardens. Irises, daffodils and tulips are in the offing. Some trees have plenty of buds; some are still awakening and are bare. Say goodbye to the fawn, dun and grey coloured landscape. Hello vivid hues. That might inspire me to dust off the camera and start shooting again.

What else?? Well, the frost has barely left the ground and I saw the first mosquito of the season last week. There are some other sorts of bugs out; moths and such. After one heavy rain early last week the driveway was alive with worms - little skinny ones, big fat dew worms - you couldn't put a foot down without stepping on one. The other night there was a tiny toad hopping around in back of the centre here. Passing some streams leading down into Lake Ontario I've seen some guys parked by the side of the road. They're either netting smelt or checking to see if the lake trout are running yet. A few larger rivers also get the lake salmon spawning runs. There are a few brave and foolish souls roaming around who are already sporting t-shirts, shorts and sandals - rushing things just a little bit, donch'ya think.

One more thing... folks are getting their vehicles out of winter storage. All the expensive muscle cars are reappearing; some classic cars; lots of motorcycles. Lots more bicycles and joggers have been getting out and about. Heads up; eyes front; hands on the 'ten and two'.

Pardon My Absence

Things are good mostly.... except these last couple of nights back here at work I've had a couple of my minor type seizures. Nothing to worry about but they do leave me tired, sometimes nauseous and more than a little 'brain-dead'. (Not really conducive to writing.) Lynda would say that's my normal condition but hey!, that's another story. Anyway, after a couple of months seizure free it looks like I'm into another 'cluster' period. C'est la vie; it won't last long.

Like I said things are good. Last week was a good one in that I got caught up on a lot of chores around the house plus I banked some quality sleep time. Like 8 or 9 hours most every night - unheard of!! Part of what I accomplished was getting some of the house re-arranged after having that flooring installed. Some pieces of furniture were too heavy to move around myself so two of Lynda's sons lent a hand on Saturday. We (meaning at Lynda's discretion) are adding an item at a time to each of the bedrooms to see what fits and what doesn't. Yeah, we've moved our bedroom back up to the main floor from the basement. I did like the basement room as it is so large and it is really good for daytime sleeping but upstairs is workable. Full sensory deprivation works - eye mask and ear plugs. Must get a picture of that - not!

Over the weekend I caught the second episode of 'Spectacle'; hosted by Elvis Costello and co-produced by Elton John. Elvis' guests were 'The Police' who he interviewed separately and then briefly as a group before they played a couple of songs at the end. Elvis proved to be an engaging host and creditable interviewer. Both guitarist Andy Summers and bassist Sting came off well; drummer Stewart Copeland not so much. Copeland seemed to be trying too hard and attempting to be the dominant personality. A good hour long show.

The raccoon.... mentioned seeing him the other night. The following night I had just stepped out the back door, fired up a smoke and he stepped up onto the deck about 15 feet from me. Headed straight for me - curious not aggressive - and I was back in that door, cig in hand, in about half a second. I beat it through the house to a front door out onto the front veranda to finish the smoke while keeping an eye out for him. Half an hour ago - same thing... he has no fear of humans it appears or else the smoke police have him on duty.

I picked up on a quiz from a blogfriend's Facebook page - Which Beatles Song Are You? - and who'da thunk it. I'm 'Strawberry Fields' and it apparently says this about me.
You are a true bohemian. You are profoundly creative and have the gift of intellectual comprehension. You live in an emotional world and tend to be a loner. Avoid the tendency to become self-absorbed and nihilistic..
Hmmm... must ruminate on that one.. and obsess, by myself, while painting and reading Nietzsche at the same time. Wanna share my granola??

For now that's all the news that fits. Later.....

Valuable Resource

http://websearch.about.com/od/invisibleweb/a/invisible_web.htm

For anyone who does any amount of research this may be of interest. About half way down the page (that this links to) they begin to list a number of search engines which go beyond what you would typically access through using Google or Wikipedia. There are some specialty sites for humanities topics.

I'm off to nose around some more.

Night Watchmen

Gazing into the night sky

and startled to realize

there is a masked face

staring back at me

from up in the tree.

Raccoon.

'Who is this invader?

this interloper?'

He or me?

We watched each other for awhile

before going back about our business.

Rust Never Sleeps

(With a nod to Neil Young)

Rich in colour, n'est pas?

We've had a cast iron chiminea for several years and while working around the yard today I was taken with the colour and texture of it. Mostly it sits unused because the neighbours tend to complain when we fire it up. Originally it had a mottled blue-green patina that had been applied somehow but with heat and weather it has gradually faded and flaked away. I prefer the rust.

Once I got up and moving today, after having slept in, it has been a busy one. All the wood cutting for the flooring was done in the garage so I spent an hour trying as best I could to get that cleaned up. The weather has cleared and warmed slightly so I was able to spend some time out back having another go at more leaves - both the ones that Milo had re-spread around and those that have since blown in from neighbouring yards. Then it was time for what we affectionately call around here 'Shit Patrol'..... yeah, cleaning up after the two dogs. They followed me around for a bit, no doubt thinking, 'Wow! We've got him really well trained!'

I would have thought that all the bending, stretching, raking and such would feel good and 'healthful'.... but my back is disagreeing. Nothing that a couple of ibuprofen won't cure. It really was nice to spend some time in the fresh air without being all bundled up though.

My daughter emailed to say she had posted a 5 minute video on Facebook of her son in the kids area of their Science Centre. Little 'Z' was buzzing around the place like a pinball and having a blast. Too cute! I don't use my account there very much because FB was having some problems for awhile but now that seems to have settled so maybe I'll get back into it more again.

Break time is over; time to feed the dogs and then clean the car. Fill the daylight hours in a useful way.

Once Again...

.... I'm on the Leonard Cohen bandwagon....

I haven't mentioned cousin BJ lately but we continue to keep in touch sporadically. Although she checks in here she chooses not to comment on the blog and emails me instead with any comments. They've been flying back and forth for this last while because of Leonard Cohen. BJ is a huge appreciator of the man having been into him since her late teens or early twenties... and BJ is a couple of years older than me so that is a loooonnngggg time, .... eh BJ?? (I was nice - I said 'a couple'.)

Checking the mail today I found a quick note and a couple of photocopied articles about L.C. - much obliged B.J. I can see why you enjoyed these ones so much and will keep them handy to read and re-read. You're an angel - thanks for thinking to do that for me.

**Update** 13/04/09

After a bit of searching I found links for the articles.
The first one is a regular column called 'Thirty and Change' written by Nicole Langlois of the London Free Press. Her's is called 'Top 10 Reasons to Love Leonard Cohen'.
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Columnists/Langlois_Nicole/2006/05/18/pf-1585529.html

The second is from a back issue of CARP - the Canadian edition for the 'over 50' crowd - from June 2006; so it pre-dates all the hype surrounding the current tour. Entitled 'Cohen's Age Of Reason' and written by Christine Langlois (hmmm... a relation? or alternate I.D.?) it can be read here: http://www.50plus.com/50plus-article-print.cfm?documentID=12441

... and of course regarding copyright issues; all rights belong to the authors and publishers so this post will be taken down upon request.

Thanks again BJ!!!

An Interesting Read

While killing time waiting at an appointment today I picked up a copy of the 'old reliable' National Geographic. It happened to be the current April issue and the article that grabbed my attention right off was about the prolonged drought that has affected the South-Eastern region of Australia. 'Affected' seems a small word to describe all the various impacts on every aspect of living in that area.

We've all seen from time to time reports in the major media about the drought or spin-offs like the incredible wildfire season they have just suffered through or damage to the economy because of grossly reduced farm and ranch output. While Kel at Xfacta doesn't complain about it she does dispense some small clues through measures they had taken while building their home that allowed them to reduce water use and retain whatever rain may fall from the skies.

Unfortunately, I'm running out of time and energy here and can't put any more of my impressions about the article or situation down in words here. I do highly recommend seeking out this issue and having a good sit-down read. You'll be glad you did.

..... and I think I'll quit grousing about snow and rain for the next while and be thankful this precious commodity is so plentiful here.

*Update* - I should have done this yesterday when I did this post. Here is a link to the story:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/04/murray-darling/draper-text

The story runs 11 pages and includes the photos. Excellent!!

Sunday Morning

April half moon

obscured by cloud

peaking through trees

settling upon suburban

house-top; almost dawn.

Preview....

... buy ..... or download.

Still on the topic of Leonard Cohen. Here's a link to AOL's Spinner where you can play entire albums. This is my first ever visit here so I know very little about it. All I know is that I'm three songs into Cohen's current release, 'Live In London', and enjoying it. How long it will be posted, I have no idea. I'm planning to buy the DVD anyway.

http://www.spinner.com/new-releases#/2

Remember a month or so ago I was hassling a local columnist about his writing?? It was through his blog post that I found this link for Spinner. I've tried this week to begin a dialogue with the guy but so far without success. No more barbed comments to his blog; I've reformed, honest!

Rainy Days, Rainy Nights

With over 24 hours of steady, soaking rain we will have seen the last vestiges of rotten snow disappear from the shadows in the woods and along the fencelines. Good riddance. The landscape has basically been bare for the last couple of weeks but here and there you could still spy little pockets buried away. Today while out driving around I passed what are normally small creeks. Not today; in a couple of spots there were rapids - elsewhere they had risen above their banks and created ponds and pools. The stream that runs in back of the house was a screaming torrent cutting at the banks, undercutting brush and trees along it's course.

Tonight the temperature has dropped to near freezing and while I was just outside the rain was becoming mixed with slushy snow. There is no way it can accumulate - way too wet - but I don't like to be reminded that in past years we've had snow for Easter. Yuck!!

To hell with that!! We're driving to Florida!!

For Tonight's Listening Pleasure

Prompted by this week's miscue regarding John Prine I ransacked the basement storage room for a box of CD's and came up with a mitt-ful of favourite American musicians. Enough to get me through tonight and Saturday night.

Oh, the reason for having to do the ransack job - we now have two bedrooms worth of furniture spread throughout the house. The first bedroom to get the new hardwood flooring is still empty as the neighbour is still working at completing the fresh paint job. Earlier today, after Lynda arrived home from work, and her brother and nephew arrived to work on the second room, we emptied it of bed, dressers, side tables, etc. They made a start on the job before I came to work tonight and should have it done late today.

Music list -
John Prine - self titled debut - 1971
" " - Great Days Anthology - disc 2 - 1993
" " - In Spite Of Ourselves - 1999

Steve Earle - El Corazon - 1997
" " - Transcendental Blues - 2000

John Mellencamp - Big Daddy - 1989
" " - Whenever We Wanted - 1991

Danny Gatton - 88 Elmira St. - 1991 (autographed)
" " - Crusin' Dueces - 1993

Jennifer Warnes - Famous Blue Raincoat; songs of Leonard Cohen - 1986

Why these ones?? Lemme see.

I've always liked Mellencamp but haven't listened to these two releases in ages; time for fresh ears. His more recent ones have distinctive intrumentation and production so I wanted to see how he arrived there.

If you've been following recent posts you already know I'm on a Leonard Cohen kick. Growing up I was familiar with his poetry and would occassionally hear him perform a song. More often though I would hear his songs covered by other artists so when Jennifer Warnes came out with this compilation that was done so well... I had to have it. It's a long time since I listened to this one, too. Reading the liner notes she is backed by some real talent - guesting on various tracks are Stevie Ray Vaughn, Robben Ford and David Lindley. From Frank Zappa's old band and Jeff Beck's current one - Vinnie Colaiuta does all the drumming.

John Prine is a one of a kind songwriter and performer. The mention of him triggered a ton of memories for me. His debut album was a constant on my turntable for months because it was chuck full of great material. Illegal Smile, Hello In there, Paradise, Donald and Lydia, Sam Stone... it goes on and on. 'In Spite Of Ourselves' is Prine's homage to early country music writers and their songs which he duets with nine of his favourite women singers - new and old. The only self penned tune is the title track.

And Whoa! Danny Gatton, the guitarist's guitarist - what a stylist!! I had the good fortune to meet him after his performance at Toronto's infamous Queen Street West watering-hole, The Horseshoe Tavern back in '92. I had never had the opportunity to see someone so talented, up so close. It was an incredible show. Harlem Nocturne, Sky King, Quiet Village, In My Room. Here he does a moody version of 'Sleepwalk'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt_atAgWH2s&feature=related

Steve Earle's music has undergone a major transition since his early years and sudden success with 'Copperhead Road'. A few albums along that same line, a disconnect, some morphing, underwent some serious problems with substance, did some time in jail and wound up reviving what looked like a failing career. He's one serious dude when it comes to politics and politicrats. His re-emergence with Washington Square Serenade is a musical blessing. Here's a clip from a performance on Bravo - Live @ the Rehearsal Hall. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-0jW1EbRBY

Promising Program

A new show that debuts later tonight is 'Spectacle' - hosted by Elvis Costello and exec produced by Sir Elton John. Across Canada it airs on the CTV network at 10 p.m.; encore presntations are on Bravo network Saturday @ 8; Sunday @ 6. For the full blather see this:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/show/CTVShows/20080730/home_spectacle/20090310/

I've seen the run-up articles about it and have been looking forward to it. Must hook up the VCR.

Lollygagging

(Warning - This is a ramble.)

There's a word you don't hear every day. But that's how I would describe last night here at work. A chance glimpse of a snippet of lyric in someone's blog post sent me off on hours of YouTube-ing; tracking down tracks, following trails to other singers and acts... a little journey down memory lane. Backtracking tonight to the original post I find the person was referring to a different song but 'what the hey', it made for a good diversion. Just a small difference between John Prine and 'Presidents of the United States of America'. For anyone that cares the same words are contained in a song by PotUSoA and Prine's 'Spanish Pipedream'.

Thing is here at work - once my actual work is done and if the clients and phones are quiet - I've got a ton of time on my hands. There are cycles I go through where for a time I'm alright to read and it doesn't bother me. Then for long stretches there is no way I can read on the job - it'll put me to sleep in no time... and that is verboten. Every once in a great long while I'll watch a movie but that is only if the house population is way down and everyone is in good shape. Otherwise I feel cut-off from the 'pulse' of the house and preoccupied where I oughtn't be. Hence, lots of time at the computer... it does keep me occupied.

Lately I've considered junking this blog and it's for a variety of reasons. There is one prime one that I won't go into but one of the lesser ones is that it eats a lot of time that I think could be put to better use. While I don't consider myself to be a writer I do like to think that aspiration is within reason. That with some serious application to the craft of writing I could eventually get good enough at it to lay claim to that title. I'd also like to re-apply myself once again to drawing and painting... and for that desire I'd have to give credit to all that I see about me on the blogs. I can remember clearly the enjoyment I used to get from artistic expression and creation. Of course, the next step is kick starting myself from anticipation / contemplation to action.

One story I like to tell would be a fictionalized biopic of 'Connie', the wife of a guy who just completed our program. See, Connie survived, in a physical sense, a misdiagnosed terminal illness and the treatment thereof. But mentally she never did recover and essentially resigned from living out her re found life. 15 years of occupying space with a heart beat and little else. The trickle down repercussions are incredible, complex and bewildering. I'd like to get her view on these last 20 years and see how it compares with that of her husband.

In a re-approach to art work I can think of a few different avenues right off the top of my head. First, I would start with simple colour choices, line and shape and work from abstract to representational and back again. Play with it in order to free up my mind and hand. Second, I would go back to still-life drawing with an almost 'drafting-like' approach in order to get my eye and hand in synch so that I can once again accurately represent what it is I see. Third, I'd go back to india ink sketches and watercolour washes to see where that would take me. Next, I'd 'construct' - come up with a premise, some idea and explore it and let it evolve into a project I could build using a variety of materials.

Lofty ideas.... when does the rubber hit the road??

Anniversary Time

Coming up in a couple of days is our wedding anniversary. It's actually our 11th but ... we did have that year or so apart there so, is it really the 10th?? Come the end of the month we will have been back together for a year once again. Man, time flies!! What else - it's about 15 years right now since we first paired up, started going out together and within a couple of months we were living together.

We share our anniversary date with my eldest brother and his wife. For them this will mark 40 years which seems incredible to me - I remember that day like it was yesterday. High school sweethearts who remain deeply in love to this day.

Our middle brother and his wife mark theirs next week and I think they're up to 33 years.

Lemme see - if I add my 3 marriages together: 8 + 2 + 11.... nope, don't even come close. Too many years alone in between.

Anyway, bottom-line. I'm very happy and grateful that Lynda and I were able to work through our 'stuff' in order to reunite and live once again as a married couple. She's a wonderful woman. If I had one wish it would be that we could spend more time together.

Just for the heck of it here is a link to a post I did which includes my favourite picture of the two of us: http://constantchangeisthenorm.blogspot.com/2007/08/fun-stuff.html



*Sue tells me the link 'aint workin'** Let's try this instead.
** Re-edited - the link ought to work now.... 4/04/09

Musical Notes

Hear ye! Hear YE! Listen up now.

I wanted to point out a new link over to the right there; 'Blog On The Tracks'. It's a blog belonging to Simon Sweetman who is a music columnist and blogger in New Zealand. I've mentioned him a couple of times before as I originally found him while doing searches for Jeff Beck news. Rooting around in his archives I found I liked his style of writing and his enthusiasm for music. He also had a terrific review of the Leonard Cohen show he took in there. His writing keeps drawing me back.

Go check him out and see if it ain't so.

Good Fortune

It was a hectic sort of rush heading out the door for work tonight. I was late, really late. My day had started off badly what with being awake and up for the day before noon; maybe four hours sleep. Not good. The afternoon was spent quaffing coffee after coffee, wandering the yard smoking ciggie after cig, keeping an eye on the pooches, and sitting head in hands wondering how I would make it through this night. Lynda arrived home late from an appointment after work and we had a simple dinner of leftovers - always better it seems the day after even if it was good the first time. I had planned to come in later than usual but Lynda had some plans for me - she had arranged for the painter to come in later today - so we wound up moving some furniture, shutting down the power for the room and disconnecting the overhead fixture. All said and done, it took longer than expected. I rushed to get dressed, kissed Lynda goodnight, jumped in the car and remembered I had to get gas if I expected to make it to work at all. Damn!!

Flipping on the radio, tuning into CBC Radio2 and *Shazzam*!!, everything changed. Already in progress was a pre-recorded concert of Leonard Cohen performing last summer in London. During the ride to work I heard 4 or 5 songs including a couple of my favourites - 'Hallelujah' and 'Democracy'. Arriving at work, slightly late, I sat in the car for a few moments so I could hear the final bars of a song. Sighing with regret I turned both the radio and car off. I got updated on the days events by the duty counsellor and talked a bit with a couple of the clients before settling in to doing up some paper work. Then it occurred to me; the audio stream is broadcast via the net and you can timeshift it according to time zone!! Brilliant!! I pulled it up and set it for the Pacific zone and heard almost the entire concert, missing about 15 minutes at the beginning of the show. It turned out to be a good thing I was running late otherwise I'd likely have missed it as I'd forgotten it was airing tonight.

The broadcast coincides with the CD / DVD release of that concert. It is also available in a downloadable version from iTunes at this link. http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/spotlight/ If you're a fan of the man, his words and his music this is prime Cohen showing how to put on a show.

I'm good to go for the night. Thanks for perking me up Leonard.

Oh! An interviewer asked Cohen what he thought made 'Hallelujah' such a great song. He replied, deadpan, 'It's got a great chorus.' (Rimshot!!)