Thoughts on Camino de Santiago

Here is a video made by Marcel from Switzerland - a tender and beautiful condensation of Camino reflections. Thank you for sending this along Marcel; we will always be connected by the enduring memory of singing together along that hot and dusty trek to Eunate.

Two Weeks in Cumbria

I've just returned from spending two wonderful weeks of exploring and hill walking in Cumbria with my new Cumbrian friends. It was a much needed jumpstart to Spring and very welcomed respite from the hazards of the everyday back here in Ottawa.



Grounded and refreshed, I'm better able now to deal with things. You can't underestimate the power of taking time out for yourself - however large or small - when you need it.

Snow More Snow

With empathy for a snowed under UK (and a nod to those in London who have stumbled over snow to arrive here) I post a couple of favorite photos: one found from the 1940's and the other a major snowstorm that hit Ottawa last year.






























I love how nature completely transforms the city and reminds us who's boss.

Snow No Bus

It's day 39 of a bus strike and there is still no end in sight. It's also winter and, at the moment, a biting cold snap of temps in the -30C's! Between walking, taxis and carpooling, folks are managing to get around somewhat but the poor and elderly suffer the most and morale in the city is low. One frigid morning we walked to work Camino-like shuffling through snow and chilling wind in an unbroken stream of hunched-over and winter-bundled souls. It's hard to imagine that this time last year I was using the cold weather as an excuse to NOT properly train.

Roads Here and There

Here's an exhibition in Asturias that I learned about from the E-Flux website:

"THERE IS NO ROAD (The Road is Made by Walking) is a contemporary arts exhibition featuring moving-image and other works by twelve international artists, approximately half of which will be new commissions that will be shown for the first time at LABoral.

Taking its cue from the famous lines of the poet Antonio Machado, THERE IS NO ROAD consists of a range of artists' projects that record or evoke a series of actual or imaginary journeys, either through the local landscape of Asturias, or through a comparably remote and mountainous terrain.

Many of these journeys are made in a spirit of 'pilgrimage' (inspired by the proximity of the Camino to Santiago which runs through the North of Spain). In an echo of the Camino, the journeys undertaken are frequently on foot, gravitating towards iconic, culturally significant locations or in pursuit of historically resonant sites, in so doing uncovering or retracing paths that have been walked many times before. Others, by contrast, are forays into the wilderness, to places where roads cease to exist, or are obscured by the mist and rain that is a characteristic of this isolated mountain topography; journeys along roads that have become impassable, or have to be forged or discovered, as if for the first time."


THERE IS NO ROAD
(The Road Is Made By Walking)
An exhibition of artists' journeys to mountains,
off-road places and other remote destinations

12.12.2008 - 16.03.2009

LABoral Centre for Art and Creative Industries
LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial
Los Prados, 121
33394 Gijón (Asturias) Spain
http://www.laboralcentrodearte.org

Wish I could see that...

YYZ No Bed (tonight)

I write from Toronto tonight, the eve of Nuit Blanche an all night art extravaganza that takes over and transforms the city. I fear the scale might turn this celebration of art into something that exceeds it. On the other hand, it reveals something about the potential rupture of collective creative spirit stored in the metropole. Imagine what would happen if we channeled our collective spirit to say no to the culture of death, to cynicism, to billion dollar corporate bailouts and environment killing industries.

On this eve of potential creative rupture I think of family and friends. Friends, because of a wonderful dinner last night with the beaverettes: a girl-gang of incredibly passionate and smart women who know how to create and laugh. The food was cooked by Siva gifted chef and host extraordinaire. We were treated to hand-ground Indian spices and a lesson in how to eat without utensils - supplied with requisite bangles and bindhis of course.
















I also think about my Dad, recently diagnosed with serious cancer, having to go through a battery of tests this week before he decides what to do next. Perhaps because of the multitude of phone calls and anticipating all possible future scenarios (Where should he live: Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Trinidad? How can we be closer to him? How much time does he have? How can we be of the best help?), I feel the strain of diaspora where everyone is so spread-out. But we also know deeply the power of enduring love that connects and withstands time and space; yes, and even difference of opinion and outlook. That is definitely something to be thankful for.

East Village Opera Company

I've been a shameless fan of (NY based - Ottawa talent) East Village Opera Company (EVOC) ever since first hearing their free parking lot performance in Ottawa three summers ago. If you like opera and rock you'll appreciate how cleverly they re-invent and mash it all up. Fun, passionate, infectious and clever - so clever. Their latest CD was released a couple of months ago, I've been happily listening to it non-stop for the last month. I even dusted-off the retired MP3 player so I can get as much listening time on the way to and from work.

Have you ever noticed that if you are genuinely happy all sorts of people will smile at you as you approach them? EVOC makes strangers smile at me all the time.

Each of their three CD's is unique with unmistakable EVOC ingenuity. The parking lot gig was to help raise funds for a much needed concert hall for the city. The concert hall is still to materialize (one more example of cultural collateral damage due to Conservative political bungling). Thank goodness for artists and creatives for adding good collective soul to our days.

More East Village Opera Company in Canada please!