Monthly Archives: July 2014

(signed photo of one of my musical heroes and influences–the late, great Dave Brubeck) No less than the great Woody Allen well understands the power of music and its role in contextualizing and underscoring the scenes and movies of our … Continue reading →

I can’t imagine anything that’s better The world is ours whenever we’re together… Life would be ecstasy, you and me endlessly… –from “Groovin’” by The Rascals (Felix Cavaliere & Eddie Brigati)

For a long time in the mid-’50s, pop culture had its way with me and I would occasionally have a children’s book or comic given to me. I read the more cartoon-based ones such as Mickey Mouse ‘Giants’–memorably there was … Continue reading →

1969, store window image, 101 Street, Edmonton. My wife–then fiancé, and I used to pass by it and it struck me then as expressing ultimate truths about feminine beauty and the perspective of death. The original famous optical illusion drawing, “All Is Vanity”, … Continue reading →

There are, of course, those basic life choices, often narrowing down to the following continuum: Living from inside_____________________________________Living by/in exteriors The exterior life is largely connected with the world of work and nonstop socialization. In it, we often wear social masks … Continue reading →

Every spring I resume riding my fendered 6-speed Raleigh Oasis and continue into the fall. I have been doing this since I bought the bike in the mid-’80s. I can remember riding it into December, a couple of weeks from Xmas … Continue reading →

And there’s a laugh hanging in the air And there’s no desperation anywhere… And you’re limned in light, golden and thin Looks to me like you’re lit up from within… And look how far the light came Look how far … Continue reading →

As surely as we die the magpies will return to eat the robin’s eggs and baby birds. No one will stop it. No one else will close the gate or water what’s left of the garden, too. Non-presence as final … Continue reading →

I’m probably the last person to opine on this, but what used to be hard media news such as the recurrent prairie floods, the umpteen coups, wars and rebellions abroad has steadily given away to the most banal, clichéd, glandular, mindless infotainment, previously … Continue reading →

In the news today, a “brilliant, but troubled”, university-educated woman who recently lost a job and a boyfriend is getting married to sadistic, psychopathic, convicted killer Paul Bernado. Calls him a kind, Christian fellow whom she believes innocent. Wears an ankle … Continue reading →