Cecil McDonald Jr.

The same day I was also introduced to the work of Cecil McDonald Jr. Wow. The luminous colour of his large photographs combined with his subject matter (his 2 daughters, his wife and himself) really captivated me. The images feel familiar and intimate and yet I can't help but feel lonely when I look at them.

From the series: Domestic Observations


Harmonic Portico (2007)


Frances Before Dinner (2006)


Why Scales Matter (2007)


1200 Meditations, Things My Mother Gave Me (2005)


Fresh Linens (2006)

Michael Kenna

Last spring while I was in Chicago, I had the good fortune of seeing the work of Michael Kenna and I'm so happy I did. There is a stillness and silence in his photographs that speak volumes when you're looking straight at them. What I'd give to own one and be able to stare at it each and every day.


Pine Trees, Wolcheon, Gangwando, South Korea (2007)


Copse and Tree, Mita, Hokkaido, Japan (2007)


Last Light, Tai O, Lantau Island, Hong Kong (2007)


Kurosawa's Trees, Memambetsu, Hokkaido, Japan (2004)


Five Canopies, Granville, France (2007)


Asparagus Sticks, Study 1, Hokkaido, Japan, (2007)

And the chives come up!

You know spring is in the air when...

you start to bbq again (mmmmm!), drink beer outside and tune up and clean the bikes.

Coraline in 3D!

I recently saw my first 3D movie, Coraline! What have I been waiting for? 3D is where it's at! A totally trippy, dream-like experience...the opening credits alone were incredible. Coraline is the first stop-motion film shot entirely in 3D. It's a mesmerizing, creepy fairy tale that really pulls you in. Definitely not just for kids. The cast was perfect. French and Saunders! Ian McShane! And I was actually impressed with Teri Hatcher and Dakota Fanning. The thing that blew me away was knowing that almost everything I was seeing was made by hand and the entire process takes years to finally come together. Directed by Henry Selick (Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach) and based on the book by Neil Gaiman.

Check out their fun website and the Coraline trailer here. But it shows a lot of the movie, so if you'd prefer to be surprised, then don't watch.

Plus, we got hilarious and snazzy 3D glasses to keep.
Thanks for the movie passes Dad!

My friends are the bestest friends in the whole wide world.

My amazingly talented super star friend Rhya said she was so inspired by my new little blog that she made me this:



In short....I LOVE IT!!! Thanks Rhya, I love you!! I can't wait to frame this and hang it in my office.

Go check out her beautifully addictive blog and her knock yer socks off creative children's toy company The Monster Factory. If you don't know about The Monsters yet then a) where have you been? and b) what are you waiting for?? Go buy one now!

On the upside, I've got myself some crazy cute faces right here at home.

Here's Olivia, pulling another one of her wacky faces.



And here's Marcus, doing the ever popular fishlips.

And missing Face, the cutest craziest pup ever.

I've been missing Mexico a whole lot lately...

Oaxacan I not? I can't believe a year went by so quickly. I can't wait to go back, sooner rather than later.

The Happiness Project!

I am so inspired, energized and well...really HAPPY right now! Just came back from experiencing Charles Spearin's The Happiness Project at the Music Gallery with my friend Mark. It was mind blowing and I need time to process it. But let me just say that this is exactly the type of thing we need more of in the world. The positive energy in the room was incredible. Mrs. Morris is my favourite! I could listen to her all day long. Her voice makes my heart sing. I really hope The Happiness Project comes back to Toronto so everyone I know can go see it. It was, hands down, one of the best shows I have experienced in my life. If it comes to your city...do not miss out!

http://www.happiness-project.ca/




Below is Charles Spearin's explanation of the project:
________________________________________________________
These are my neighbours. My wife and I have two little kids and live in a multi-cultural neighbourhood in downtown Toronto. In the hot summer months all the kids in the neighbourhood play outside together and everyone is out on their porch enjoying each other’s company, telling stories and sharing thoughts. A year or so ago I began inviting some of them over to the house for a casual interview vaguely centered around the subject of happiness. In some cases we never broached the subject directly but none-the-less my friends began to call it my “Happiness Project”.

After each interview I would listen back to the recording for moments that were interesting in both meaning and melody. By meaning I mean the thoughts expressed, by melody I mean the cadence and inflection that give the voice a sing-song quality. It has always been interesting to me how we use sounds to convey concepts. Normally, we don’t pay any attention to the movement of our lips and tounge, and the rising and falling of our voices as we toss our thoughts back and forth to each other. We just talk and listen. The only time we pay attention to these qualities is in song. (Just as when we read we don’t pay attention to the curl and swing of the letters as though they were little drawings.)

Meaning seems to be our hunger but we should still try to taste our food. I wanted to see if I could blur the line between speaking and singing - life and art? - and write music based on these accidental melodies. So I had some musician friends play, as close as they could, these neighbourhood melodies on different instruments (Mrs. Morris on the tenor saxophone, Marisa on the harp, my daughter Ondine on the violin, etc.) and then I arranged them as though they were songs.

All of the melodies on this album are the melodies of every day life.

- Charles Spearin, founding member of Broken Social Scene and Do Make Say Think

I can't stop listening to Beirut.

Their new album is AMAZING!! It makes me miss Oaxaca soooo much. I even miss the terribly off key, sour note oom pa pa band that practiced EVERY DAY in our village and surprisingly never got better.

www.beirutband.com



***from their website:
Entitled March of the Zapotec, the first EP consists of songs written by Beirut and recorded in Mexico with the help of Oaxacan march masters The Jimenez Band. The second EP, Holland, showcases Zach's latest bedroom-style recordings under his former moniker Realpeople, including the previously released "Venice" (in the 2007 Believer music issue), and "My Night With the Prostitute From Marseille" (on the Natalie Portman curated Big Change charity album). Taken together, the two EPs proudly display the scope of Beirut's work over the last year.

Maybe there's a better way to teach your kid not to suck their thumb...

Ok, so I had to post something about Struwwelpeter. Weren't you curious?

Oh those Germans.

Der Erlkönig (The Erl-King) is another of my favourite poems. It's haunting, dark and twisty and reminds me of German fairy tales I read growing up. I use the term 'fairy tales' very loosely. Ever heard of the German classic Struwwelpeter? Oh man! It's complete with color drawings of kids burning to death and having their thumbs (which shouldn’t be sucked) chopped off. And of course there's the Brothers Grimm. Could anything be further from Disney?

Anyhow, back to The Erl-King. There are many translations out there but this is the version I remember from junior high.

The Erl-King
By: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Who rides so late on a night so wild?
A father is riding with his child.
He clasps the boy close in his arm.
He holds him tightly, he keeps him warm.

"My son, you are trembling, what do you fear?"
"Look father, the Erl-King, he's coming near!
With his crown and his shroud, yes, that is he."
"My son, it is only the mists that you see."

"O lovely boy, O come with me!
Such games we'll play, how glad we'll be.
Such flowers to pick, such sights to behold;
My mother will make you clothes of gold."

"O father, O father, do you not hear
The Erl-King whispering in my ear?"
"Be still, my child, lie quietly;
It is only the wind in the leaves of the tree."

"Dear boy, if you will but come away
My daughters will wait on you every day.
They'll give you the prettiest presents to keep
They'll dance when you wake and they'll sing you to sleep."

"Look father, O father, do you not see?
The Erl-King's pale daughters waiting for me?"
"My son, my son, I see what you say,
The willow is waving, its branches are grey."

"I love you child, so come without fear or remorse
And if you're not willing, I'll take you by force!"
"O father, dear father, tighten your hold!
The Erl-King has caught me, his fingers are cold!"

The father shudders, he spurs on his steed,
He carries the child with desperate speed.
He reaches the courtyard and looks down with dread,--
For there in his arms, the boy lies, dead.

The ones you don't forget.

I've been reading a lot of poetry lately. I started thinking about some of the first poems I read that have really stayed with me throughout the years. In grade 7 through 9 I had the good fortune of having one of the most amazing English teachers, Mr. Brown. He got me interested in all different types of literature and poetry.

Here is one of my all time favourites. It's tragic, insightful and moving. And it introduced me to the magic that is Robert Frost.
Thanks Mr. Brown!

"Out, Out-"
By: Robert Frost

The buzz-saw snarled and rattled in the yard
And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood,
Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it.
And from there those that lifted eyes could count
Five mountain ranges one behind the other
Under the sunset far into Vermont.
And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,
As it ran light, or had to bear a load.
And nothing happened: day was all but done.
Call it a day, I wish they might have said
To please the boy by giving him the half hour
That a boy counts so much when saved from work.
His sister stood beside them in her apron
To tell them "Supper." At the word, the saw,
As if to prove saws knew what supper meant,
Leaped out at the boy's hand, or seemed to leap—
He must have given the hand. However it was,
Neither refused the meeting. But the hand!
The boy's first outcry was a rueful laugh,
As he swung toward them holding up the hand
Half in appeal, but half as if to keep
The life from spilling. Then the boy saw all—
Since he was old enough to know, big boy
Doing a man's work, though a child at heart—
He saw all spoiled. "Don't let him cut my hand off—
The doctor, when he comes. Don't let him, sister!"
So. But the hand was gone already.
The doctor put him in the dark of ether.
He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath.
And then—the watcher at his pulse took fright.
No one believed. They listened at his heart.
Little—less—nothing!—and that ended it.
No more to build on there. And they, since they
Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.

AGO Face lift!

Finally got around to seeing the new redesign of the AGO and it did not disappoint. It's stunning! The Galleria Italia is incredibly beautiful and original, as is the sculptural staircase. The views of the city are impressive as well. It's about time Toronto started to be bolder in its architectural choices. Compared to other major cities in the world, we are way behind. But now with the AGO's face lift, we're off to a great start. I also highly recommend going on Wednesday nights. It's free from 6pm to 8.30pm and surprisingly, not crowded at all.

I feel as though summer is around the corner...

Something about the way the late afternoon light looks makes me think those sun soaked days will be here before we know it. Am I naively optimistic or just plain delusional?