What happened on Saturday December 22nd?

Just wanted to say we miss you Joe!

letsgetarocking - 101'ers [download]the mp3
White Riot Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros (with Mick Jones).[download]the mp3
1977 - the Clash [download] the mp3

(download and listen, if you like go buy the albums and support the artists.)

What happened on Thursday December 20th?

Just in case I don't get to do a Xmas post. Merry Christmas.

I have done almost no shopping, I still need to find stuff for Wife. I was supposed to go out at lunch to get gift for Eldest .. argh!!! Youngests health card expired .. I had to go replace that! Eldest has drum lessons tonight. Then I get to go shopping.

Everyone is well, both Eldest and Youngest had recitals in the last two weeks. Both were scared but performed to there best. Eldest plays drums, so he played along to Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd .. Youngest plays the piano, she played Cuckoo, and a Christmas song. Middle is going through a faze of not liking her parents right no, with ATTITUDE .. Argh, lord love a duck give me patients.

Have fun, enjoy the snow and the gifts.

What happened on Thursday December 13th?

We forget how safe we are here in Canada .. 70 years ago today the Japanese took over Nanking.

Here we are entering the Christmas season, Canada is at war (though we don't really think about it unless you know someone who is or has served in Afghanistan). We are safe here, and have been safe for a very long time. We (not our government) have to be aware of history and current events so that we can make sound decisions about the future of our country and its interaction with the world.

What happened on Saturday December 8th?

Ever since I began blogging I have done a December 8th post. Not because of Pearl Habour (though this is a event that changed the course of western democracy, allowing the creation of the super power to the south of Canada, but because of the death of a single man. Stupid right, how could one person (who is not a member of your family) be important enough to write about every year.

The morning of Dec 9th 1980 was a normal school day for me, I woke to the radio (Q107) and the announcer saying the John Lennon was dead, shot as he entered the building he lived in. Sounds odd, but the world stopped, and I walked around in a daze for the rest of the day. Here I was 17, and I was upset by the death of some guy I had never met. A great uncle had died that summer, I wasn't as upset about his death as I was by Lennon's. Why? I liked his music, I had grown up with it. Though we never had Beatles albums in my parents house (or at least until I had brougth home my copy of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band a few summers before), when a Beatles song came on the radio (which is always on) the volume would go up. Mom was only 26 when she had me, I always thought that she really wanted to be a Beatles fan, but would never admit it.

John Lennon was a really good musician, a great lyricst, a member of a band that changed . But why did it upset me. I think it was the realization that everything was not hunky dory, that you could go out your door and not return. That just because something beautiful existed didn't mean that it couldn't be destroied. That the dreams you have might not come true and you do have to except reality.

Anyway here are a couple of John Lennon songs for you to remember him by. As I said about Norvel, celebrate his life. Buy his albums, share his ideas and dreams. They just might make the world a better place.


*The Beatles - Help! - Help!.mp3
*John Lennon - John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band-Working Class Hero.mp3
*John Lennon - Live in New York City -Instant Karma.mp3

What happened on Thursday December 5th?

December is beginning to be a very shitty month for me. My heroes are dying. On Saturday it will be 27 years since John Lennon was shot outside the Dakota in New York. It has been almost 5 years since Joe Strummer passed away from a heart attack.

Now, one of my favorite painters has died from Parkinson's Disease. Norvel Morriseau is dead. His work is vibrant, colourful and powerful. I felt the link to the earth in what he painted. He introduced the world to what is called the "Woodlands Style" of work. In my opinion, he tried to show people Canada as it is in our hearts not in our eyes. I was a "wannabe" because of his work. I wanted to be a artist, I tried my hand at paintings in the woodlands style, I loved how the work would flow from my hands, expressing my feelings without having to speak. I wanted to be a native Canadian. I wanted to study art because of Norvel. I want to thank him for over 30 years worth of dreams. I know his life wasn't easy, I know that he didn't make life easy for some of the people around him, but I hope they remember him for his love and not his mistakes. Take a few minutes to read about the life of Norvel, take a couple of hours to see his work. Go to a local gallery, here in the GTA you can head up to Klienburg to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and spend a few hours viewing not only Norvel's work, but also the work of some other exceptional Canadian artists.

Enjoy his work, and celebrate a life.