It appears everyone I am acquainted with was very good living in the 1970’s or perhaps a bit deaf..
I am trying to figure out what the term “mikes” refers to in Juan Butler’s The Garbageman. I am wondering if it is or was a slang word for pills, or drugs. I don’t think it refers to microphones because it doesn’t make sense in that context. It may be an Easterly vernacular. If you ever heard that word in that context — educate me!
Means of production: a covered walkway
At the Means of Production garden tea party today I learned much about the Burrard Bridge. The Means of Production (MOP) is a fascinating garden space run and used by artists to cultivate materials that they use in their art production. Last year, I think it was, I went to another tea party and Lori taught me how to save seeds and I scooped some to keep the bees happy.
I planted them in a corner of my garden but I think my ineptitude ended their reign fairly swiftly, nothing much has ever grown in that particular spot, so perhaps there’s a big clump of chimney bricks down there.
Today Peter was telling me about a walkway that exists beneath the Burrard Bridge, but that the city shut down during the depression because people had begun to move in there. Seemingly this walkway was a route under the bridge, across the bridge, if it was raining. The public descended a bunch of stairs, I think if I heard right, and could walk across through this covered walkway. This is such a perfect concept for November rains here.
Today I kept turning up at places that were closed! I went to two community centres that were both closed. I continue to have my seasons confused. There was a fun CBC radio documentary on about the ukuele on the radio to sing along to: Frank Faulk explores the passion for the ukulele in his documentary The Gospel According to Uke.
When I was in the Wired Writing Program in Banff, Anne Fleming played the ukukele most nights along with Ingrid who played the guitar.
It was a fun ditty of a documentary, and I have to say the players all had fine singing voices, but that was probably nothing to do with the instrument they played under their armpits. The ukulele does remind me a bit of playing the washing board with an old stick.
Watched this interesting documentary on China from the Inside: women of the country. The suicide statistic amongst rural women is very alarming. One every four mins. China is the only country in the world where more women than men commit suicide.
The voice
Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh – Tráchtaire ár Linne
Bhí an tráchtaire Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh ag ceiliúradh 80 bliain ar an saol ar 20 Lúnasa agus labhair sé leis An Saol ó Dheas ar Raidió na Gaeltachta ar an lá sin ó bharr Chnoc Bhréanainn, áit a raibh sé ag ceilúradh i dteannta 23 duine dá chairde agus dá ghaolta.
I might be confusing him with Mícheál O’Hehir. Beidh me ag eisteacht ar Sept 10, 2010.
And certainly with Roch Carrier.
Ding when are you going to start your broadcasting ??
Box ****
Today’s dilemma was the disappearence of the red mail box (post box). I had a letter to post and a hard time finding a mail box.
Then Ding Ding! I will look up and find a map of all the mail boxes in Vancouver so I can carry it with me. But no map. Just this message from Canada Post
Our red Street Letter Boxes are a standard feature of the Canadian urban landscape and are conveniently located in public areas such as street corners, shopping centers and public transit locations.
Canada Post boast there are 900,000 places across Canada to post a letter. Am I alone in thinking given the size of this country that’s not very many?! In fact I think that number in one place would keep the population of Kamloops happy because we all know it’s necessary to have 10 postboxes per person.
But I did learn some spectacular news — you can indeed print a stamp online, so I set about investigating clickety-click and
The Canada Post Ship-in-a-click tool you have chosen is not available at this time.
We are actively working towards a solution to resolve this issue.
We thank you for your patience, and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Please try again later.
One of my literary cooking high moments ce soir (ie. do not disturb me reading…) massive steak (not cooked properly I fear v chewy & complete with self sustaining red swimming pool) 2 wildberry waffles (gluten free, yep rock n roll), one cherry tomato between cooker and sink.
Washed down with a gallon of tea for pudding.
Phew glad that’s over.
Back to Juan Butler’s The Garbageman!
Jane Rule’s novel becomes a great deal less interesting when everyone in it bundles off to live in Galiano Island. Is it difficult to write about Island life without earnest reverence? Does everyone suddenly get made up once they hop off the ferry?
The book is drawing to a breezy & unfortunate end, that said what’s interesting about the book remains interesting. I continue to have exchanges on the questions that occurred to me and have discovered a few other folk equally curious. The novel (The Young in One Another’s Arms) has prompted me to consider the intersection between fiction and social history and also the intersection of housing, urban landscape (and its development) and literature. One communication I had with a writer about the book described the prose as “informative” not “evocative” and I found this distinction/description dead on.
I’ve long been curious about this sense of Vancouver as a city being constantly “surrounded by”, dwarfed by mountains, the city as a city being looked at in the reflection of what’s around it rather than what’s in it. We do not live up trees, we do not live in the mountains. We live in the streets and bus seats and libraries and corner shops, laundry rooms, and queues for bureaucracy.
And so onward with the thinking. I will visit the archives and query my wonderings further there.