![]() In early June I’d hung a few of my paintings at a new local pot shop - Endless Heights. The owner - Alex, called me up and suggested I change them out for some new ones, to which I agreed. After hanging the new ones I had to load the previous ones into the car. We took them out to the street and while I was loading a man came out of the shop I was parked in front of to see what was happening. He looked at the paintings and commented he really liked one. Knowing I will have to get rid of them in the fall, I said he could have it for $50. He disappeared but soon after came out of his shop waving a $50 bill. Now it’s hanging for someone to enjoy! ![]() On the 11th Bill and Linda Trescher were in Detroit. Bill is a childhood friend from French River summer vacations. He and Linda were making their way slowly north and would eventually arrive at the French River - via Detroit, Traverse City, and Mackinac Island. They had offered to take me out for dinner, which on a Monday in Windsor is a bit of a trick - so few open! We settled on California Sushi, a favorite of mine, but when we got to the door a sign read - Closed for Family Function. Fortunately, a new Ethiopian restaurant - "World Marathon Ethiopian Restaurant" came to my attention earlier in the week - which was just a block away. I really liked the lamb with basmati rice. I will go again. Thanks so much, Bill and Linda. I must admit to some intense and clear deja vu, especially as the waiter brought our dishes - clear as glass, I’d seen this in a dream. On the 16th I helped ACT (Arts Collective Theatre) move lumber and old set pieces out of a garage on Gladstone to their new place on the west side. On the 19th the heat wave across the globe moved north from Spain and Portugal (where more than 1.000 have died from heat stroke) through France to the UK, which saw 42-degree heat for the first time in recorded history. Houses caught fire, emergency services maxed out (all fire trucks in use - could not respond to all calls) and railway tracks buckled cancelling hundreds of commuter trains. These kinds of temperatures in London were not expected for another 10 years. Climate change is real, it’s here and there is nothing we can really do to stop it. But I wish social media friends would stop criticising efforts to move to solar and wind. I hope the Canadian government took the opportunity to place a nasty computer virus in the turbine they allowed to be returned to Russia. (if such a thing was possible - see Stuxnet) ![]() Read The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War Malcolm Gladwell 2021 FTW: “In The Bomber Mafia, Malcolm Gladwell weaves together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard to examine one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history.” Interesting quick read. Now I have to get a biography of General Curtis LeMay. Goodreads reviews here. The Fever Coast Log Gordon Chaplin 1993 FTW: “Chaplin picks up the tiller and sets off for the darker side of Central America in a travel adventure that is part pirate story, part exploration, and entirely entertaining. What he finds along the way is a compelling story about travel and the discovery of self.” I was hoping for a bit more on his self-discovery. Another quick read. Goodreads reviews here ![]() Viewed Grandma 2015 A comedy with Lily Tomlin and Julia Garner. It would seem Tomlin was channelling her soon-to-be “Frankie” character of “Grace and Frankie”. The movie moves along well - no slow spots and deals with some real-life situations - no superhero stunts here. Recommend. See trailer here Top Gun: Maverick 2022 I went to the theatre for the first time in probably 3 years. The seats were nice - power, lazy boy types. The movie was a remake of the original. It was also a take on the first Star Wars where they must fly down the canyon (of buildings on the Death Star) and hit the very small entry to the main target below ground. The country was not named but obviously Iran. It’s very slow and boring until the actual raid. The second dog fight is a little better - all’s well that ends well. It’s really a terrible movie. Why was Ed Harris in it for one scene? Wait for it on Netflix or Prime. See trailer here Danger Man TV series starring Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ran from 1960 - 62 and 64-68. Can be viewed on Roku or Youtube. Rocky Jones, Space Ranger Ran for 32 two episodes through 1954. Roku TV. Passed Nichelle Nichols (1932) - Lt Nyota Uhura on Star Trek, Tony Dow - Wally on Leave it To Beaver, Bill Russell (1934) - center for the Boston Celtics and civil rights proponent
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My sister Holly and and her husband Kim, arrived on June 1st and we continued the estate work - cleaning, meeting with all the appropriate people, planning how to go forward - it’s a big job and we made progress. Micheal Roy, director of Windsor Light’s fall production of A Christmas Carol, stopped by on the 3rd and we went over the show from start to finish. I’m designing the set and it looks to be an exciting challenge. I have included many of the photos from the listing of the house as at some point in the future the listing will disappear. They have "burnt" the images, making them much whiter than the real colours. It gives it a very clean look. The camera lens also makes the rooms look larger. ![]() Art in the Park On June 4th, Barb and I rode to Willistead and locked our bikes to the fence. We arrived around 11:00 and the place was packed. The weather was great and the atmosphere very positive - I especially enjoyed the music. Many duets and quartets scattered through the park, all very pleasing. We toured Willisted Manor - it looked great. Monday we went for a bike ride and just as we arrived home, Barb tried a different dismount and did a face plant on the cement. She got a terrible bruise on her chin - the helmet saved her from a more serious injury. That evening was the first meeting of department heads for A Christmas Carol. The cast has been announced and it’s packed with some very talented people. Son John purchase a new (to him) boat - a 19 ft Princecraft powered by a 125 Mercury. Tuesday the electricians arrived and rewired the garage. On Wednesday Peter, Barb, and I went over to the Riverdale Manors Apartments to have a look - very nice. Cathy, Holly, and Mary arrived on the 10th (Friday) to continue prepping the house for sale. The pool guys had been in a few hours before and had opened the pool. Peter cooked a nice roast and we enjoyed the meal. ![]() The next day, Barb and I made our way to Stratford to see “Chicago”. We ate at Romeo’s a place where I would take Mum and Dad during our last three Stratford outings. The owner remembered them and me. B and I shared a California Burger with fries. The production was excellent, the set (mostly a jail scene) is backed up by a floor-to-ceiling wall of lights that move and flash in dozens of patterns. There were no weak cast members and the music is great. We sat in the balcony and I would suggest the main floor centre area for this one. There are a few obstructed view seats behind and next to the soundboard, which are significantly cheaper and not really obstructed. Our balcony seats were $42 but I purchased those because the balcony was only 50% sold, We were able to move (the usher asked us if we’d like to) to the $145 seats. During intermission, we looked from the main floor, and the set looked much better. Most reviews are 4/4, but I give it 3 out of 4 - it’s not a favourite of mine. We stayed at our usual place - The Travellers Inn, a motor hotel. ![]() The next morning we headed east, visiting the campus of the University of Waterloo, then a quick drive through St Jacobs, and then up to Elora. We walked around the village, checked out the Elora Mill , and climbed down to the river at the bottom of the gorge. Had a bite to eat and then toured the Wellington County Museum and Archives. The structure was built in 1887 as a “poorhouse” and there was a great deal of information about the inmates. There was also an interesting local art show and we spent time touring the cemetery where a few hundred inmates were buried. Then we made our way to Brampton via Orangeville and stayed the night with Kim and Devon. Kim cooked a delicious chicken with roasted Brussel sprouts and home-fried potato, a salad, and pineapple. ![]() The next morning we headed north for the cottage. Two hours into our drive and we stopped in Parry Sound for groceries. Then on to Dokis, unload the car, loaded the boat and it was upriver to Crowes Rest. Then we unloaded the boat and hauled up our luggage and supplies. Then began the opening - the first major job being getting the water system up and running. I carry a water pump out to the river and attach the hoses. I make sure all the taps under the cottage have been shut off, but I forgot about a few inside. I failed to get the pump running that afternoon, so I lit the propane stove and fridge and helped with moving furniture out, making beds, and generally putting stuff away. The next morning I solved the water issues and lit the hot water heater. Things were looking up! A few days later my younger son John, his dog Mabel and my x arrived in John’s new (to him) boat. They stayed for four days and we had a good time. John was out with some of his river friends and managed to catch covid. We tested negative. Fishing for pickerel was pretty good, but the other species - pike and musky - did not pick up. Barb and I left on 28th and drove back to Mississauga where we stayed with Anthea and son James. The next night, after dinner at Snug Harbour (nice view but the food is just ok) we took in a Blue Jays game. (They lost to Boston - but it was fun). The next day we made our way to St Catherine's and stayed with younger John and Laurel. John took us fishing off Port Dalhousie for a few hours but nothing biting, and then we were off to Niagara-on-the-Lake to see Damn Yankees at the Shaw Festival. Covid had put enough of the cast out of commission so that the play was performed as a concert - the cast was seated in costume on chairs in a semi-circle. The full show was presented accompanied by the orchestral but without set changes or any dance numbers. In the photo below you see the stage as it was but will the entire cast. I’d received an email the day before offering a full refund or change of date tickets, but we were committed. It was still pretty good. The next day we ventured 20 minutes down the QEW to Niagara Falls. I’m sneaking one day into July as it was Canada Day and very busy. We then drove back to Mississauga, took a rest stop and Anthea’s, and then I dropped Barb off at Pearson Airport at 6:00 for a 9 pm flight to Saskatoon. Her flight was delayed until midnight due to the lack of a pilot. I made my way back to Windsor by 10:30. ![]() Read Memories of Teilhard de Chardin by Helmut De Terra 1964 Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881 – 1955) was a French Jesuit priest, scientist, paleontologist, theologian, philosopher and teacher. He was Darwinian in outlook and the author of several influential theological and philosophical books. He took part in the discovery of Peking Man. He conceived the vitalist idea of the Omega Point. With Vladimir Vernadsky he developed the concept of the noosphere. In this book we learn about Chardin from the point of view of a fellow researcher and travelling companion. Goodreads link here ![]() Rudolf Steiner: An Introduction to His Life and Work by Gary Lachman 2007 Steiner (1861 – 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as a literary critic and published works including The Philosophy of Freedom. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he founded an esoteric spiritual movement, anthroposophy, with roots in German idealist philosophy and theosophy. Author Gary Lachman, one of the original founding members of the rock group "Blondie" gives a satisfactory overview of the life of an extraordinary and much underrated modern genius. Goodreads link here Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coehlo 2006 FTW "Twenty-four-year-old Veronika seems to have everything she could wish for: youth and beauty, plenty of attractive boyfriends, a fulfilling job, and a loving family. Yet something is lacking in her life. Inside her is a void so deep that nothing could possibly ever fill it. So, on the morning of November 11, 1997, Veronika decides to die. She takes a handful of sleeping pills expecting never to wake up. In his latest international bestseller, the celebrated author of The Alchemist addresses the fundamental questions asked by millions: What am I doing here today? and Why do I go on living?" Goodreads link here |
AuthorI believe we are what we think. What we think depends on what we feed our brains. This is a partial record of what my brain has been eating. Archives
February 2023
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