shipping news

That was fun. A few days ago on the way home from a decently long drive and a longer walk we decided to stop by the grocery store - the one that's separated from Pier 21 by some railroad tracks. Looming over the parking lot that day was the Queen Mary 2. As residents of a seaside city seeing ships and boats of all kinds is a fairly routine experience, one never really taken for granted, but you do get used to seeing sailboats, cruise ships and container ships (you wouldn't believe how many containers filled with 'I ♡ Halifax' t-shirts leave the port). The ships we always look forward to seeing are the Tall Ships - especially when they arrive in largish numbers. Square rigged wooden sailing ships are a marvel to behold even if they aren't nearly so numerous and magnificent as the ones that sailed the world in centuries past.

Still and all it was amazing to come across the largest cruise ship in the world right here in our own little harbour. Once again I didn't have a camera so the pictures here are from local news outlets.

The first one is of the ship arriving in early morning when it sailed past the container port docks. That's Point Pleasant Park in the distance.

The second is her arrival in Halifax Harbour as she passed the lighthouse on George's island.

The third shows her docked at Pier 21 (taking up at least two spaces). The grocery store is the large grey roofed building in the foreground.

The last one is interesting because it shows the relative size of the QM2 to the Titanic.

From a sailing cruise ship, everyone on board spots a long bearded old man a ways away who is yelling and wildly waving his arms like a crazy fool. “Who is that there?” one of the passengers asks the captain. The cruise ship captain replied, “Sorry, I never figured that out. For the past 10 years when we pass that tiny island, he seems to show off more and more.” 
♡

a walk in the park - Point Pleasant, Halifax

This morning I found a comment from my old friend, Lindsay, that said he'd like to see more pictures of Point Pleasant Park here in Halifax. It turns out I do actually have some despite the fact I rarely carry the camera. They weren't all photographed on the same day, but all were taken during the months of May and June.

Even as it's possible you've seen most of the pictures before, if you'd like a quick look at our favorite local rambling spot again you'll find them here.

spring signs

Yesterday we saw flowers that looked just like these popping out of the ground all along the paths at our favorite park. While most people are posting pictures of crocus, daffodils, cherry blossoms etc., here in Halifax these mysterious things that look a bit like dandelions are the first wildflowers of spring. They may be catsear but I'm not sure. If you happen to know what they are please let me know. Eventually we'll see all the rest - usually over the course of two weeks just before summer hits.

Lately I've been back to bead weaving bracelets. Why, I don't know - perhaps because doing something that's both complex and mechanical is soothing while the rain falls. Now if I could just figure out a way to take consistently decent pictures of them I could show you more. Then again, maybe this is enough:

Meanwhile, I found myself reading some quotes fit for any season by George Carlin. I have, however, left out the rude ones:

Swimming is not a sport. Swimming is a way to keep from drowning. That’s just common sense!

If the Cincinnati Reds were really the first major league baseball team, who did they play?

Honesty may be the best policy, but it’s important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy.

Ever notice that anyone going slower than you is an idiot, but anyone going faster is a maniac?

If it’s true that our species is alone in the universe, then I’d have to say that the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little.

The very existence of flamethrowers proves that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves, “You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I’m just not close enough to get the job done.”

The reason I talk to myself is because I’m the only one whose answers I accept.

I put a dollar in a change machine. Nothing changed.

Here’s a bumper sticker I’d like to see: “We are the proud parents of a child who’s self-esteem is sufficient that he doesn’t need us promoting his minor scholastic achievements on the back of our car.”

I love and treasure individuals as I meet them; I loathe and despise the groups they identify with and belong to.

One great thing about getting old is that you can get out of all sorts of social obligations just by saying you’re too tired.

Nobody “owns” anything. When you die, it all stays here.

May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house.

♡

round and round

Having had to keep the curtains and windows closed on weekdays for the first  two months of summer has pretty much stopped me doing much drawing (the paints and brushes remain packed away).

Not to be one to do nothing when I'm kept from the drawing table, I've been spending some of the downtime making little beaded bits again. Whether I'll apply for a small space at the local Christmas craft fair in December is still to be decided, but having nothing at all to show would make the idea a moot one.

Up to now I've made fifteen beaded pendants and a couple of new bracelets. What's been trickier, though, has been trying to take three or four decent pictures of each one - yes, it's a juried show. Once I have access to my workspace and daylight again on a regular basis I guess I'll figure it out.

Nevertheless, making things is much more fun for me than photographing them. Out of more than a hundred images taken one late afternoon a few days ago, these are the best ones so far. Thank goodness for digital cameras, eh?

The good news is that our windows and the balcony door will be replaced on Tuesday - the last place on this side of the building. Besides having to move the furniture away from the front of the apartment (!) we've already noticed it takes the crew the better part of twelve hours to complete a switchover so I guess we'll be taking a trip that day. Know of any good movies showing this summer?

♡

ps: I wouldn't have cared about this work if anything had been noticeably wrong with the old windows, but there wasn't. I wonder why is everything always about appearances these days.

jubilant july

No, I didn't take this picture but it was such an amazing close-up of a very common summer flower I just couldn't resist sharing it. Did you know almost all dandelions are clones? They're most certainly the bane of gardeners and the delight of children. Dandelions have been famous among children for a very long time. What little girl has never used a dandelion 'clock' to tell the time? What little boy has never kicked the head of one (or a dozen) to watch the seeds fly away? If you know of any who haven't then those children should be encouraged to get out of the house more.

Yes, here we are with high summer blooming all around us and the two major North American summer holidays on the way. Tomorrow is Canada Day and next week will be the Fourth of July. Here's a celebratory video sent by a friend that I'll post in honor of both:



Crow will be home for the festivities and he's bringing another dear friend with him. The more the merrier when it's Fireworks time.

Good weekend to all.. and I hope it's not too hot where you are.
♡

ps: We've been here for nearly two years and have never once heard anyone say 'you hoser'. I wonder if it's become unfashionable?

halifornia dreaming

Believe it not there are a few intrepid business owners here who post signs in their window displays that actually use the word Halifornia to mean Halifax. Now I wouldn't have you believe anything is particularly bad about this nice little city that's generally very well cared for (a 13% sales tax rate and high property taxes do wonders for the various municipal services) but California it is definitely not. I spent more than 17 years living on the west coast of the US and had enough chances to see that fabled state to know this city is nothing like that place. Look wherever you like and you won't find a movie studio, a Hollywood starlet, a Golden Gate Bridge, or a Disneyland. No grape vines either. Nevertheless, when the summer sun shines it's a pretty enough place as you can see from the picture above I took one afternoon last week (zoomed a bit); the very next morning we awoke to mist so thick I couldn't see the balcony rail from three feet away.

Here's another one taken from the same spot this morning and what we have here is a genuine Atlantic fog and not the smog that often obscures LA. California is a lovely state that has its share of man made problems while Halifax (and Nova Scotia in general) simply don't have the kind of climate and landscape to attract 36.5 million people. In fact the entire population of Canada at 34 million is noticeably less than that figure. Perhaps those store owners should just show a bit more honesty in advertising and change their signs to say Halifog. Then again, that might not encourage tourism.

I came across an interesting story on the BBC this morning about the world's first multinational corporation and its monopolization of the spice trade:

Just as corporations today seek to monopolise plant genes in the developing world, the Netherlands United East India Company (Voc) set about seizing total control of spice production. In 1652, after displacing the Portuguese and Spanish, the Dutch introduced a policy known as extirpatie: extirpation. All clove trees not controlled by the Voc were uprooted and burned. Anyone caught growing, stealing or possessing clove plants without authorisation faced the death penalty.
On the Banda Islands, to the south - the world's only source of nutmeg - the Dutch used Japanese mercenaries to slaughter almost the entire male population. Like Opec today (and Monsanto etc.?), the Voc also limited supply to keep prices high. Only 800 -1,000 tonnes of cloves were exported per year. The rest of the harvest was burned or dumped in the sea.

Somehow, little Afo managed to slip through the net. A rogue clove. A guerrilla plant waging a secret war of resistance. Afo would eventually bring down the Dutch monopoly on cloves. In 1770, a Frenchman, appropriately named Poivre, stole some of Afo's seedlings. This Monsieur Pepper took them to France, then the Seychelles Islands and, eventually, Zanzibar, which is today the world's largest producer of cloves. A clove tree planted from the original seeds still stands today half way up a volcano on Zanzibar where it grows as a symbol of the ultimate folly of empire - and the stubborn refusal of nature to be controlled.

Maybe I'll like cloves better from now on.
♡

downwardly mobile

Rather than drawing or painting a new picture, I decided to post an old one (hoping you'll excuse me) partly because I haven't had time to draw a new one that's pertinent, and second, because in the not too distant future I'll get to see this one hanging on a wall somewhere in our new place. Yes! We finally found a new apartment, so the stuff that's stayed packed away in traveling cartons while we waited out this*, that^, and the other thing# will be out on display again. I don't want you to think we've been living without furniture or the other necessities of life like books and movies, but we do have far more cardboard boxes than are typical.

* this - It took a lot longer than we ever expected to get an authorization for numb to be accepted as a resident in Canada. More and more, there are things you're allowed to do that are much more difficult to accomplish in practice.

^ that - Since we hadn't heard from Immigration by last June we had to stay here for another year. Believe me, it's really best not to change your address while waiting for a government agency to come to a decision.

# the other thing - It's a law in NS you must give the landlord three months notice. Fine. Many students leave in late spring. Good. More apartments are available in the summer here than there are in the fall. Great. All we had to do was find one.

That's what we've spent the past couple of months doing. Yes, we're picky but more on the side of having something nice to look at out the windows rather than wanting a dishwasher or our own personal washer and dryer. Even though a car is a requirement sometimes, it's also undeniable it's preferable to be able to walk where you need or want to go. So we signed the lease today and will be moving at summer's end to a new apartment that's almost as spacious as this one with fewer yet bigger rooms. Instead of living on the 7th floor of a 23 story building we'll be on the 3rd floor of a 7 story one so I won't get dizzy while standing on the balcony. Plus, it's only two thirds of our current rent.  Now we'll be able to plan for some summer fun. It also means I'll have more time to focus on drawing and writing that story I keep boring you about.

Meanwhile, here's another very cool (and short) video from Vimeo:


not over from Toru Hayai on Vimeo.


(Perhaps more frequent blog posting too)
♡

local exposure

Although we weren't outside to witness the proceedings ourselves this past Sunday afternoon, we got a first person witness account of events that took place outside our once elegant and still enormous apartment building. A disoriented young man who was found wandering on the sidewalk dressed only in a leather jacket and one sock was tackled by the local constabulary. In their valiant attempt to make sure he was carrying no objects dangerous to the general public they had him stand up, bend over, and jump up and down. During these events a crowd of his good natured peers was on hand to take pictures with their cell phones while making ribald jokes.

After our traumatized storyteller had gone we pondered the impossibility of how anyone could make it from their apartment to the elevators and on down through the lobby of this busy enclave without anyone mentioning his sartorial blunder. Having given the matter due thought we arrived at a solution that, although it precludes him living at a higher elevation than the third floor, we feel is the only logical possibility:

When stepping out onto his balcony to breathe the fresh air of a warm spring afternoon he must have inadvertently tripped over a nesting pigeon. In an effort to avoid the delicate fledglings he stumbled and began to topple over the balcony. Meanwhile, the quick thinking pigeon mother grabbed the bottom of his trouser leg to arrest his fall but not being weighty enough to prevent his wingless plummet found herself with only his pants in her brave beak.

That must have been what happened.

♡

win some, lose some

If you've been wondering what I've been up to since last time this is partly that. Since I'd had pretty good luck with the results of the last two paintings I decided to work on this one drawn a few months ago which you may remember. I love the image and want to get it just right but this is as far as it got before I threw it away. I could see some things were acceptable but realized the colors weren't what I was looking for and I had definitely overdrawn the leaves and flowers in the tree - impossible to erase once I'd laid in the first wash of color. So rather than spend many hours working on something I wasn't going to be satisfied with I decided to start over.

Maybe the next version will look more like this:

I seem to have developed the funny idea that I have to put up a new picture for every post which is kind of difficult for me as I don't work very fast. Besides that I've been teaching myself a new way of painting these past four or five months. Old dogs can learn new tricks but it takes longer.


I think I'm going to have to find more silly stuff to talk about around here if I'm going to hold on to my blog party membership. For instance, a bagpiper was skirling outside the window a few days ago and I looked to see 50 or so cap and gowned graduates walking behind him down the middle of the street. It's a good thing this is a very quiet town so far as traffic is concerned or the country might have lost some PhD's.

Good too it was only one bagpiper as there were enough dogs howling as it was.



woof
☂