When Bad People Come to Your Neck of the Woods

Great...Leslie arrives tomorrow and there is a manhunt for an armed and dangerous serial killer in the Ottawa valley including up at Shawville where my parents are staying at the cottage. Kripes. This punk bastard strangled a man and kiled two old people. they found his truck up near Renfrew Ontario recently. I hope they find him soon or mayb a farmer will mistakenly shoot the bastard thinking it was a deer.
The story >>

The wanted man

The Witching Hour

"At last my love has come along" as the old song says. Leslie arrives tomorrow at the scheduled time of 11:59. I don't know what else to say. I can hardly believe we made it this far after so much time just dreaming.
Now we awake...

She's Coming Next Week!!!

Brutality

What the fuck is wrong with people? It's enough to make you give up on humanity >>

No Jewelers On Duty

Flickr: Photos from SNWEB.ORG Photography

An abandoned factory in Gary, Indiana. This photo is public © All rights reserved. Uploaded on May 30, 2007 · 0 comments. An abandoned factory in Gary, ...

Abandoned City

"Gary Indiana is about the closest thing I have ever seen to an abandoned city. It is becoming a modern day Mayan city, buildings remaining but people getting out.

Just across the border from Chicago, Gary is a city that has fallen on bad times. I heard a lot of things about Gary before coming there. It was supposed to have a high crime rate, white people had been warned to stay out of town. But David from Forgotten Detroit assured me it was safe to explore. Sure enough we had no problems when we were there. No one bothered us or gave us a second look. I didn't feel unsafe at any time. It was an okay place to explore. Even though whole city blocks had been abandoned and bulldozed it looked okay."

From urbanadventure.org

Gary Indiana - America's Ghost Town

I don't know why but the words Gary Indiana were ringing through my head so I looked it up. It must be mentioned in one of the millions of songs I've heard. Here is a tour of Gary Indiana courtesy of www.forbidden-places.ba




" Alecia Perkins
28 Mar 2007, 09:33
My husband and I are real estate investors and are buying properties in the Gary area. I was saddened by what I saw on a recent tour I took. The town is completely in ruins. And looks like a great plague wiped out the residents. Downtown is full of empty stores and abandoned buildings...sad indeed.

I will say that there are some efforts to revitalize Gary. However, there are brand new buildings right around the corner from the most empty and dilapidated city blocks I've ever seen. I guess efforts are being made but the new structures next to the existing crumbling ones looks really odd. I have heard contractors and developers saying that they would have better luck bulldozing the whole entire city and starting from scratch. :o( "



and don't miss The Furniture of Gary Indiana >>



Here are the lyrics. they are by LA 'punk' band X circa 1984. They were commenting on the Reagan USA but remain salient:

Honest to goodness the bars weren't open this morning
They must have been voting for the president or something
"do you have a quarter?"
I said yes because I did
Honest to goodness the tears have been falling all over the country's face
It was better before before they voted for whats his name, this is suppose to be the New World
Flint, Ford auto, Mobil, Alabama, windshield wiper, Buffalo, New York, Gary, Indiana, don't forget the motor city, Baltimore and D.C.
Now all we need is, don't forget the Motor City this was suppose to be the New World All we need is money just give us what you can spare, twenty or thirty pounds of potatoes or twenty of thirty beers, a turkey on thanks giving like alms for the poor
All we need are the necessities and more
It was better before they voted for what his name, this is suppose to be the New World
Don't forget the motor city this was suppose to be the new world

Stynx

OK here it is Lorelei by the Saint Clairsville Singers



Followed by everyone's favourite "I just realized I might have an alcohol problem" song "Who Are You?" introduced by funnyman Ronald McDonald

Bears Turned Inside Out

Yes I should be asleep. I'm sick though and I simply can't. So I've been up writing e-mails to old friends, playing online scrabble reading the news. I recently got in touch with my friend Alefia from Montreal. She has a fantastic gallery of photos from a trip she took to India where her family originates. You can see it here>>

I've also recently reacquainted myself with four other old friends ranging from Grad school to way way back in Vanier Rez days at York. All of this via Face Book. The internet has proven to be a radical social element in my life. Thank god for it. My god it's how I make my living even. the strangest thing is to think back to when I started University in 1984 and for all intents and purposes there was no internet. Imagine if someone told me how I would meet all of these people including and especially Leslie as well as make a career based upon presenting information through this medium? It would have sounded ludicrous.

Now for the bears turned inside out. This series of photographs takes me back to when I was a child. my mother sewed a lot of stuffed animals for us including a Pooh bear that I still possess. I not only appreciated the craft that went into making these creatures, but there was a magic seeing them go from inside out to a "living" thing. it was magic to my young mind when all the sewn up bits folded in on themselves and burst open as a bear or tiger or piglet. Ah piglet where are you now?

Here is the site>>

Squirrel Attack

I heard this awful scratching at the screen window behind me. It sounded like a cat was trying to get in. I live on a high second floor of an old house. It wasn't a cat. It was a squirrelly squirrel. he wasn't very afraid of me or the dog either. I clanked some bottles together and he leaped onto the wall of the back staircase like spider-man. He stared back at me for a while I hissed and he took his time going back down. I hope he doesn't figure out that there is no screen on the sun room!

Take One For the Boss

Bush intervened on the sentencing of Scooter Libby. It's true the laws that apply to everyone don't apply to cronies. Take the fall and get a free pass.

Babe

I woke up from a nap yesterday with that awful Styx song "Babe" running through my head. I don't own that song and haven't consciously heard it since when? I took Luna for a walk and as we walked down Coburg a car pulls over and parks. Guess what song the driver was playing? Yes. Play if you dare!!!

Blog Fusion Confusion

There are two Glob and Wails now. This one and one that looks the same but contains everything prior to May 2007. I had to do this because it takes forever to publish to any of three servers I tried. I'm not sure why but this blogspot version will be the new version.

Last Weekend

Dave contemplating his return to Tokyo, having another beer, suicide and the latest issue of Hustler all at the same moment.


John and his daughter Chloe


The couple I met at Lee's Palace and then again the next day at the Distillery and yet again later on in the day. She is from Kanata originally. His name is Peter. They invited me for a drink and that's all I know.


John and his daughter Chloe in reflection and upside-down.

Do I Hate Bell Canada?

Yes. For more information please contact your local "I Hate Bell Canada" chapter.

The Best of Globalization

The 21st century is bound to be full of headlines like this:
"Russian 'ninja' arrested in Italy" from the BBC >>

How about "Moroccan Dog Sled Racer Crashes in Cambodia" or "Melanesian Moose Hunter Injured in Albania"

From Dinosaur Jr to John Doe

After a very pricey dinner Dave and I heded to the Phoenix to see Dinosaur Jr. I wasn't to sure if I wanted to see them because they have a reputation for bing enormously loud. As it turned out they were only letting 100 NXNEerners in. Even with his "all access" pass we were turned away. We then hopped on the College St car and went west getting off in Little Italy. We walked south to Queen and went to some hole that had a band from Tokyo playing. It was a three piece with a really tiny female bass player in a groovy kimino.Nothing special musically.

The strangest thing was that Dave met a guy at this show that he had met at the Fujifest in Tokyo last year. Even stranger the guy lives in his building in TO.

We stayed for the next band "Vulcan Dub Grip". They were very young. The band itself was entertaining but the singer was supermelodramatic and had a weak voice. In fact he was annoying.

We then walked up to Lee's Palace on Bloor to see John Doe (of X fame) and the Sadies. That brought back a lot of memories for me. They still have the same cartoon mural on the outside. We had to wait in line but the doorman saw Dave had his All Access pass and told us to come on in. John Gomeshi of Moxy Fruvious /CBC noteriety was in our way at the bar buying shots of some dark liquid.

John Doe played acoustic, then electric, then with the Sadies and then added Kathleen Edwards. He did a nice version of Poor Little Girl and More Fun in the New World, a critique of the Reagan era that sadly rang as true today as back then.

So that was last night

Today we went for Brunch, saw Wooffest ( a dog fair in the St. Lawrence Market) and had a drink on a patio. John and Karen are coming tonight and maybe Kirk and I wish Leslie was here to join in the fun.

NXNE

I'm in Toronto for the NXNE music festival thanks to Dave H. I have no idea who any of the bands ae but it shuld be fun. Dave is covering events for the media.

I left a sunny Ottawa and arrived in TO just in time for a huge downpour with some wicked wind. There was a sad scene on the bus this morning. There was one seat left without a struggle next to an Asian gentleman. A black woman came on the bus and asked to sit there. He refused to remove his bag from the seat next to him. She was very polite but firm. Still he would not budge. The bus driver asked him and he refused. Another terminal employee also a black woman asked him to move the bag or get off the bus. He moved the bag but he sat in the aisle seat and refused to let the black woman get past him without a struggle.

No one got off until Scarborough and as soon as there was a free seat the man moved. Sad but true.

Now I am off to get some wine for Maria and beer for the rest.

Departing

A day of sadness and relief. This week I was given my own office. One year ago this week I was working in a corporate environment with my supervisor literally looking over my shoulder for the entire day...day after day, as his work station (ugh what a mugly term) was right behind me. Now I work a few blocks away on the same street and I have my own damned office. No one looks over my freaking shoulder...they knock or say hello. And they all are friendly. Imagine.

Last summer was a combination of humiliation, degradation and money. It was only worth it as a point of reference and to pay some bills. It allowed my honey to come visit of course so there was refuge in the dissonance. However it stripped me raw. Raw like a bleached femur in a Jackal pit. Yep, just like that.

But autumn took its turn and in that rusty dance I found some wonder. Thank you for that trip John and Sharon. I have so many strong images from that drive from Ottawa to Algonquin, the cottage in Parry Sound and on to Owen Sound.

Sitting by the water with the autumn sun shining on the water, my dear friend made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Thank you for that moment and that idea.

Not long after a barely employed James made his way to Colorado and the cogs of the galaxy started to grind and churn. then I found my place in this world. With my love and with my city and with that unnamed thing that winds it's way through evrything.

It was along time coming and there are things to tend to always, but I feel like I am finally out of the mire.

if I am wrong that's ok too, but I don't think that I am.

My First and Only Lolcat Post